Whose envoy is he anyway?

As (sort of) predicted here at First Drafts over a month ago, it looks as if Michael Williams, currently UN envoy to the middle east, will soon be returning to British government service as the prime minister's own middle east envoy (a post last filled, of course, by Lord Levy). The Guardian, which broke the story on Saturday, suggested that the appointment could lead to clashes with Tony Blair, who is of course himself plugging away in the middle east, on behalf of the international "quartet." It's not quite clear why such a clash would be any more likely now that Williams will be working on behalf of No 10 rather than the UN; in fact, as pointed out in Prospect a few months ago, a turf war with Blair was more likely when Williams was at the UN, given that the UN is one of the four members of the quartet on whose behalf Blair is working.

Personality politics aside, Williams's appointment is good news for the region, says Benny Avni of the New York Sun—but bad news for the UN, which is losing one of its most able diplomats. Avni also suggests that the idea that Williams will act as a "counterpoint" to Blair's "perceived pro-Israel bias" is overdone.