Tony Blair in Nazareth

I am going to start with a boring old statistic. As statistics go, it's a neat one.

Last year more people visited the London Eye than visited the Holy Land. Yes, the crossroads of three of the world's major religions was eclipsed by the giant ferris wheel which stands on the River Thames. 

Into this sorry state of affairs enter Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister and now Middle East Envoy to that odd grouping, the Quartet, which consists of the USA, the European Union, Russia, and the United Nations. When he accepted the job he probably - and not unreasonably - might have had visions of bringing his celebrated Irish peace-making magic to the region - but so far at least, he hasn't felt the hand of history on his shoulder -- more the weight of it. 

So he has busied himself with building up the capability of a future Palestinian state - good governance of the Palestinian Authority, the encouragement of private investment, developing the commercial potential of the West Bank - and where possible aligning the interests of both the Israelis and the Palestinians.  And that is now the big push on holy land tourism - or depending on what you want to call it - the Jesus tour, or the nativity trail. 

And so I accompanied Mr Blair to Nazareth. It is Israel's largest Arab city, and the key to opening up the neighboring West Bank.  

Today in the old town the shops are largely shuttered, and the tourists are staying away, but for some backpackers and a smattering of Americans - all of whom did a double take as the Blair whirlwind blew through. It is a quiet place. 

Well it was until Tony Blair arrived and went on a walkabout. His security team had checked where he would go and who he would meet.  Forget it.  Blair pitched himself in as though it was the final day of a closely fought election campaign -  children were hugged, hands were shaken, shops were visited, unannounced detours were made and much Turkish coffee was consumed.

The mayor, who was by now sweating profusely, struggled to keep up - you get the impression that in sleepy old Nazareth they don't do retail politics like that.  The tourism chiefs and the local media lapped it up - and you would have to say no one looked happier than Tony Blair himself. 

After ten years at the top of British politics, he has managed to improve the economic well-being of the Palestinians, and his quiet painstaking work is respected by both sides.  But as I watched him working the streets of Nazareth, I sensed that Tony Blair feels he has one more big job in him -- and this might not be it.