DESPITE the divisions within his own party on Europe, Mr John Major persisted with his personal attacks on the Labour leader last warning that sending Mr Blair to EU talks would be like sending a "fly to a spiders' convention".
Denouncing Mr Blair's "naivete and inexperience," Mr Major warned that the Labour leader could not be trusted to negotiate in Europe for Britain's best interests because he "changes his mind as often as a grasshopper jumps".
Speaking to the party faithful at a rally in Manchester, Mr Major predicted a Labour government would lead to a federal Europe and that federalists would welcome Mr Blair's elected assemblies in Wales and Scotland because they weakened the United Kingdom.
"They read the words of Robin Cook, that titanic statesman and would be foreign secretary, that the Conservative view of the nation state belongs to the last century, not the next century.
"The federalists read those words and rejoice at the thought of a Labour future. Once you set Wales against the north east of England, Scotland against Wales, the south west against the north, the strength of Britain would be sapped, our national purpose undermined," he said.
Mr Major's attack marks a hardening of Tory tactics and was combined with a new no holds barred newspaper advertisement depicting Mr Blair as Chancellor Helmut Kohl's ventriloquist dummy. The slogan underneath says: "Don't send a boy to do a man's job."
The Labour Party immediately dismissed the advert as "pathetic", and proof of Mr Major's desperation. The shadow chancellor, Mr Gordon Brown, suggested the Tories' campaign had now degenerated into "personalised smears", and revealed the panic and desperation in the Conservative camp.
"Mr Major has failed to show leadership. If leadership is the issue, Tony Blair has shown by his magnificent leadership of the Labour Party, whenever he is tested, he can lead and get results," he said.
A spokesman for the German government described the poster as "pitiful" and the pro European Tory MP, Mrs Edwina Currie, said it was "puerile". Mr Peter Hintze, the general secretary of Chancellor Kohl's Christian Democrats, said the poster was alarmist and unfair.
"It is unfair to bring the German Chancellor into the British election campaign like this. Even allowing for the special nature of the British sense of humour, I don't think it is fair play to deal with the concept of Europe and with a European partner in this way," he added.
The Tory hierarchy insisted that the poster - the idea of the deputy Prime Minister, Mr Michael Heseltine - was not offensive. Mr Major suggested that it portrayed Chancellor Kohl as a "doughty fighter" for his country.
Mr Major claimed Mr Blair deserved to be shown as a puppet because he had handed over his bargaining powers by agreeing to sign up to the Social Chapter, the working time directive and the Employment Chapter, without something in exchange.
"The concept that the leader of Germany or the leader of France or the leader of Britain should actually say, `Here I am going off to Amsterdam. I've changed the red flag for the white flag. Here are my surrenders. Please can I have a seat. If I don't have a seat, I'll have a knee.' What a piece of nonsense," he said.
However, Mr Major could not forget his party's divisions for even one day, as Baroness Thatcher also appeared to support the 200 rebel Tory MPs who have defied the government's wait and see policy on monetary union. Asked if Britain should sign up to a single currency, she immediately replied: "Good heavens, no.