Tony Blair’s “friends in Europe” did little to support his bid for the top job

President Kennedy once envisioned the void he would face when he stood down thus: “I will find myself at what might be called the awkward age, too old to begin a new career and too young to write my memoirs.” Kennedy never faced that dilemma. But Tony Blair did. And as he comes to terms with his failed bid to be EU president, he will have another chance to solve the problem of retirement.

The British are not usually impressed by their former prime ministers. Few have added to their stature in retirement. Several, like Thatcher, Heath and Churchill, detracted from it—the latter is lucky to have escaped opprobrium for the hospitality he enjoyed from the likes of Aristotle Onassis. Since 1945 most have gone quietly into their dotage, seeking little more than memoirs, self-justification