Back in 1997, I was working on a newspaper which supported Tony Blair’s election campaign and included colleagues who went on to join Blair’s inner circle. The optimism and excitement during election night exploded as it became clear that the young moderniser of Britain’s Labour Party had won a landslide victory. These were heady days for all who believed in Blair, the charismatic young leader with a radical new voice. Yet for those of us who weren’t caught up in the New Labour love-in, there was something strangely unconvincing about Blair: he had the look, feel and rhetoric of a leader — and a strong and committed following — but something was missing beyond inexperience. It wasn’t insincerity, quite, but rather the sense that there were significant gaps in his personality.