How we view the state of the nation depends on our personal experience

A FRIEND of mine who has been in London since we left college told me how, at a recent dinner party with his English friends, Tony Blair was one of the main topics of conversation.

Of course, that is not surprising — Blair is British Prime Minister after all. However, my friend said what was most striking was the intensity of the anger towards Blair and the sense of disappointment about him which is apparent among the British middle classes.

Much of my friend’s circle voted enthusiastically for Blair and for his New Labour government when they were first elected in 1997.