All he has to do is be back on British soil, and the political pace quickens. In the prime minister's case though it's necessarily to a sprint to keep the demons at bay. Certainly the bank holiday weekend looks to be anything but time-off for Mr. Blair as he fine tunes a raft of initiatives and speeches and plans private meetings with his own turbulent backbenchers, all aimed at showing he's inclusive, in control and in touch, his new agenda being dominated by the interwoven themes of faster progress in the Middle East and greater security at home. While loyal ministers insist that far from contemplating his exit, he and the government are just getting on with their work.

What we have to do is to engage with the Labor Party, and with members of the Labor Party, ah, with supporters of the Labor Party and also with the wider public, ah, making sure, that we deliver on all those commitments that we made in our manifesto a little over a year ago.

For all his public protestations of commitment though to the New Labor Project, Gordon Brown will be less than overwhelmed that there is apparently no end in sight to the waiting, which has already gone on for so long.

In theory, Tony Blair could carry on for another couple of years or so, but in reality, the question of when he will go is already convulsing the Labor Party. The endless speculation on this subject is in itself destabilizing and in the coming weeks and months, the business as usual agenda that Downing Street will try to set, will impact on many as some kind of parallel universe, Peter Spenser Sky News, Westminster.

a raft of
[informal] A great number, amount, or collection
許多，大量，大批

backbencher
后座議員(指英國下院的后坐議員,普通議員)

manifesto
A public declaration of principles, policies, or intentions, especially of a political nature.
宣言對理論、政策或動機(jī)的公開宣言，尤指具有政治性質(zhì)的

convulse
To shake or agitate violently
使…強(qiáng)烈地震動或狂躁不安

destabilize
To undermine the power of (a government or leader) by subversive or terrorist acts.
使動蕩通過顛覆性的或恐怖性的活動破壞(一個政府或領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者的)統(tǒng)治