Political Focus with Bill Jacobs

TONY Blair this week tied his political reputation to the success or failure of the Millennium Dome.

The Prime Minister promised the extravaganza at Greenwich - the home of Time - would be "the most fantastic day out in the world".

In his extraordinary and hyperbolic speech, Mr Blair unequivocally nailed his colours to the Dome's mast.

And he also dragged Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and Home Secretary Jack Straw along with him.

It was their powerful memories of the wonder of the 1951 Festival of Britain that swayed Mr Blair and the Cabinet into backing rather than sacking the £748 million Year 2,000 celebration.

But this controversial and hugely expensive project is fraught with risk. If it all goes wrong it could be one of the biggest White Elephants in history.

And coming just 18 months at most before the next General Election, it could do immense damage to both the Premier and his government. But in his speech - Mr Blair in his most Millennial visionary mode - would have no truck with failure.

There was more than a grain of truth in his assertion that the Germans or French would not let such an momentous anniversary pass if it was Berlin or Paris Mean Time rather than Greenwich.

But those two countries have a long history of putting vast amounts of state effort and cash into such national projects.

Despite the Festival of Britain in 1951, Britain's record in such state monuments since the Victorian era is not so good.

So why is Mr Blair so determined to pin his fortunes to such a risky scheme. Is it just that he is determined to defend his much-vilified favourite disciple Peter Mandelson? Part of the answer lies in Mr Blair's vision of his vocation as Prime Minister.

He sees himself as part of a regenerative process following the wastelands of the Thatcher and Major years. While he may accept many of the changes that took place, he genuinely wants to create a New Britain. And that New Britain needs to be marked. There is an element of personal vanity in his need to use something as large and as expensive as the Millennium Dome to mark one's Premiership.

And the prospects for this project's success are rather higher than the one that his predecessor John Major staked his place in history on - peace in Ulster!

But there is also the idea of his New Britain being able to take on the challenge - that the success of the Dome against the odds will a tangible symbol of the new spirit and creativity of the country.

Mr Blair, however, is no fool. He is not going to stake so much on something he fears could backfire with potentially fatal electoral consequences.

The first sign of his success is that finally the big private firms are swinging behind the project with their sponsorship.

They know that falling out with a government with such a huge majority is bad news and that a few million quid is a small price to pay to keep in with the Prime Minister. But if they are going to spend their cash, they then have an interest in making sure that such a high-profile project with which their name is associated is a success.

In addition, Mr Blair may have looked at the people supporting the project. Its original author former Deputy Prime Minister Micheal Heseltine is a political heavyweight with generally excellent judgment. His successor, Mr Prescott, and Mr Straw are not fools either.

And Mr Mandelson is not going to wreck his reputation of being a political fixer by overseeing a fiasco.

With Mr Blair's personal and public backing and the support of such heavyweights, no-one can afford the scheme to fail.

Therefore, rest assured, that no matter how much money or efforts is required, that famous Blair smile will open the Millennium in response to a successful Dome that defeated the doubters.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.