Mark Steel: Where the money and power go, the rotten old 'peace envoy' will follow

Opinion

Tony Blair keeps popping back to annoy us, doesn't he? Every few months, just as you think he's slid into history, he emerges getting paid a million pounds for something like brokering an arms deal with Josef Fritzl and you realise we'll never be rid of him.

At least in the past, leaders did their damage then disappeared, but he'll never go.

It's like finding out the next leader of the United Nations will be General Franco or that Emperor Hirohito is to be a judge on X Factor.

In Britain this week, a Channel 4 Dispatches programme concerned one of Blair's business dealings, but they needn't have bothered with the investigative bits.

It could just have gone, "Tony Blair is paid £2 million ($4 million) a year by JP Morgan bank", and any reasonable person would shout, "Oh you dirty pig, how have you pulled that off?" while the rest of the hour was adverts.

Because you might ask why the bank feels he's worth this salary. It's possible it's because he's really good at banking.

He went for an interview and did a test and they said, "We've never met anyone who can count so fast, and you can even multiply. Name your price."

Or, if we are to be cynical, it's because he has influence and connections as he was the prime minister.

The programme went on to claim that his role with the bank compromised his position as Middle East peace envoy, but in his defence that it can't be true as he's already as compromised as it is possible to be on account of him being Tony Blair.

This is where his genius has to be acknowledged.

You'd think that after someone invaded one part of the Middle East for having weapons that turned out not to exist, then was the most strident leader in Europe in supporting the bombing of Gaza, you'd done all you could to ridicule the post of Middle East peace envoy.

But he keeps finding new ways, like praising Hosni Mubarak as a force for good or having six business meetings with Muammar Gaddafi.

He's like a stadium rock band that has to make each show even more spectacular. Next he'll float through Mecca on Pink Floyd's inflatable pig, then announce he's making progress on bringing all sides together.

A few people give him the benefit of the doubt. One writer in the Independent this week defended his business dealings, concluding that if he "strives to make his family financially secure, how does that harm us?" Maybe this explains the behaviour of Blair's friends as well.

The Gaddafis would sit in bed together saying, "We need another couple of palaces for the kids, to make sure they have a decent opportunity in life. After all, we won't be here forever and the cost of torture chambers keeps going up".

The Blairs have amassed somewhere between £15 million and £50 million so far, so it's unclear how much more security they need.

Still, there might still be a few countries where they don't have any property, and you wouldn't want to leave open the possibility of one of your family getting stuck in Paraguay without a country estate, so he'd best keep toiling away at JP Morgan because you've got to put your kids first.

The Blairs will probably scrape by, because every moment seems dedicated to providing this security. They sell Tony's signature, and the opportunity to have a photo taken with him, and this summer when they threw a kids' party they charged 10 quid for every child who came.

It must be like budget airline Ryanair in their house. They'd offer you a custard cream, then charge you 85p plus 10 per cent service.

And this is what matters - more than whether he's broken some official code in his business dealings. Because this was the attitude that drove him when he was prime minister, obsessed with being close to money and power, which is why he let the banks run riot and let Rupert Murdoch do whatever he pleased, and went to war with Iraq to stay next to George W. Bush.

And if we're being picky, you might say that did harm us.

- INDEPENDENT