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Back from the brink

Where does Britain's crisis-ridden Labour Party stand after its `make-or-break' conference in Manchester last week? First, the bad news. Contrary to brave official claims, the conference failed to resolve fully the debilitating power struggle going on within the party. Nor was it able to address the broader policy issues that have alienated large swathes of its traditional supporters, raising doubts about its ability to retain its majority in Parliament at the next general election. On both fronts, uncertainty remains and the party has its work cut out if it means business. The good news, however, is that it was able to hold its nerve during its worst crisis in recent years and overcome internal divisions — even if only temporarily — to put on a rare public show of unity. After floundering for months, Labour was finally able to recover its instinct for survival. Any fair assessment of the Manchester conference must take into account the backdrop against which it took place. In the preceding weeks, the party was virtually torn apart by what was widely dubbed a `civil war' over the leadership issue amid accusations that Prime Minister Tony Blair had been the target of an attempted coup by supporters of Gordon Brown, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and his putative successor.

As the conference approached, it was hard to escape the sense of doom that was palpable even among normally optimistic Labour supporters. There were doubts whether the party would be able to survive five days of intense media and public scrutiny, let alone prepare itself to meet the challenge from a revived Conservative Party that, for the first time since it lost power nine years ago, is head-to-head with Labour in opinion polls. Even as delegates were gathering for the opening session, there were fresh signs of trouble at the top, with Brown supporters stepping up their campaign for the removal of Mr. Blair, saying that his continuance would further damage the party's image ahead of next year's crucial local elections. Mr. Blair hit back by refusing to give public backing to Mr. Brown as the best man to succeed him. The crisis looked like spinning out of control. Against this backdrop, what actually happened at the conference was remarkable. As The Guardian noted editorially: "Labour's greatest achievement this week has been to retreat from the fratricidal abyss into which it seemed intent on rushing only a few weeks ago." It may have been `enforced' unity but it worked. Where the party goes from here will depend crucially on how Messrs Blair & Brown conduct themselves in the next three to six months.

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