Blairism and 'Blairism'

摘要

Newspaper columnists are more wont to call for the resigna-tion of others than to announce their own. But next week the hand that has filled this pseudonymous space over the past four years passes his pen to a new and sprightlier Bagehot. This is therefore a chance to do something that journalists do even less often than governments. It is a chance to say sorry. The chief apology is owed to Tony Blair. If journalists suifer from a professional deformation it is to accentuate the negative. As a result, many admirable aspects of "Blairism" have gone un-complimented here since 1998. This is the time to make amends.