| Blair branded a psychopath Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/content_objectid=13190359_method=full_siteid=50143_headline=-BLAIR-S-A-PSYCHO-CLAIM-HIS-LABOUR-RIVALS-name_page.htmlhttp://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/content_objectid=13190359_method=full_siteid=50143_headline=-BLAIR-S-A-PSYCHO-CLAIM-HIS-LABOUR-RIVALS-name_page.html
BLAIR'S A PSYCHO CLAIM HIS LABOUR RIVALS Jul 18 2003 By Paul Gilfeather Whitehall Editor TONY Blair was branded a "psychopath" yesterday in a magazine owned by Chancellor Gordon Brown's closest political ally.
In what was being seen by Downing Street as an open declaration of war, ex-minister Geoffrey Robinson's New Statesman dedicated an entire edition to the Prime Minister's potential demise.
The onslaught even forced Mr Blair's official spokesman to deny the Premier had gone "potty".
The magazine said: "He is a man who doesn't really know who he is. More technically, he is diagnosed as a psychopath capable of reinventing himself with remarkable dexterity, like an actor."
It added: "What most people call spin - the routine lubricant of all political gearboxes - is, in Blair's case, eloquent self-delusion on a heroic scale."
The article quoted psychologist Dr Paul Broks, who claimed: "Suppose it turns out that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction.
"Suppose the Prime Minister was indeed party to the ramping up of what flimsy evidence there might have been in order to keep us on a pre-set course for war.
"Set this against his affiliative personal style and the profile that begins to emerge is that of a plausible psychopath - charming, intelligent, emotionally manipulative, ruthlessly ambitious and self-serving."
The article added: "Therapists agree that the ability to disassociate yourself from the consequences of what you have done is a classic ingredient of the psychopathic condition."
For such a hatchet piece to be published in a Labour-supporting magazine is a huge blow for Mr Blair, who is under attack from all sides in his party.
But millionaire Mr Robinson, who has expressed growing frustration at Mr Blair's apparent unwillingness to hand over to Mr Brown, did not stop there.
In another feature, entitled "What's the point of Tony Blair?", the magazine claimed that even the Premier's most trusted aides were discussing regime change.
And the New Statesman's editorial said: "The PM looks rather dangerous, given to foolish foreign adventures and silly schemes.
"Mr Brown seems to offer safety and continuity. The reality is that a Brown government would have a sense of purpose that the Blair government lacks."
Incredibly, Mr Blair's spokesman Tom Kelly allowed himself to be drawn into the questions raised over the PM's sanity.
Asked if Mr Blair had gone potty, he said: "The term potty sounds slightly potty to me. Equally, psychopath is a very strange term to use."
He added: "Look at what the Prime Minister has achieved in the past six months in terms of handling major international issues such as Iraq, in pursuing progress in the Middle East settlement and in pursuing public service delivery at home.
"I think you will see a Prime Minister who has a very clear sense of direction."
Home Secretary David Blunkett also leapt to the PM's defence last night. He told Channel 4 News: "The people we have to worry about most are those you would describe as being loyal who stab us in the back. Tony Blair goes on because Tony Blair is acknowledged as a world statesman who has transformed the Labour Party and our Government."
Coventry MP Mr Robinson, who resigned after it emerged he gave ex-minister Peter Mandelson a £373,000 home loan, believes Mr Brown's time has now come.
One senior Labour MP said: "He is playing king-maker for Gordon and it is relentless."
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