It depends on which camp you belong to—the prime minis-Ater's or the chancellor's. Until this week's budget, Gordon Brown had either been pushed by Tony Blair to the sidelines of Labour's election campaign or, piqued by the return of Alan Mil-burn to the cabinet, was sulkily refusing to pull his weight. The truth lies somewhere in between. Mr Blair has been determined to inject this election manifesto with the reformist zeal he thinks the last one lacked, even if that has meant putting Mr Brown's nose out of joint. He yearns to leave as his legacy a welfare state transformed by diversity of provision and consumer choice, fit for the 21st century. He fears sabotage from Mr Brown because of the chancellor's doubts about the role of markets in providing public services. But he also realises that Mr Brown and the economy he has presided over are his strongest cards in securing a third term. Two weeks ago, Mr Blair described Mr Brown as "the best chancellor this country has had for 100 years". Despite everything, he means it.
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