So it's sort of official, Bad Al is back. Brown was still as wooden and weird as ever at PMQs yesterday, the only difference being that he had some decent arrows in his bow for once. Campbell has been doing some what of a victory lap this morning, less than subtly taking credit for this apparent resurgence. He even popped up on LBC and had the audacity of discussing Andy Coulson in the context of bullying. Is this the very same Alastair Campbell forced out of his job after overseeing the most poisonous and corrupt decade in British politics?
This former pornographer, alcoholic and bullyboy doesn't exactly have a great track record in which to launch his attacks from. Last time TB checked Andy Coulson wasn't detained and forced to hospital by the police for his and others safety. In his hack days Campbell was famed for punching fellow lefties, cutting his teeth as a thug in preparation for his future enforcer role.
You would think there were already enough basket cases in the bunker.With this background of thuggery, Campbell took to his role of summoning all the dark arts of the media against his masters enemies like a duck to water. Shouting and screaming down the phone, threats to end careers, emotional and actual blackmail, and a stubborn refusal to ever concede any point. How did the famous Iraq quote go again? "
Come on, you don't seriously think we won't find anything?"TB is at a loss to explain this collective bout of amnesia that has broken out across Westminster. How many people have managed to survive driving a whistle-blower to suicide and been able to bounce back as a knight in shining armour at an hour of need.
Even his homage Malcolm Tucker hasn't killed anyone.For Campbell to be brought back into the fold is almost as explosive as the return of Mandy. Ever the careerist, Mandelson's return was easy to comprehend, but Campbell has nothing to lose, he is there for one reason and one reason only - to play dirty. At times the New Labour foursome swore never to be in the same room as each other again but then desperate times call for desperate measures. It is clear that Mandy has lost the argument that the toff line won't work and who better to oversee a kitchen sink operation than then poisonous and hateful man who wrote the rule book. Campbell went before because he was a liability, things must be in utter chaos if the Brownites, who were so often at the receiving end of Campbell's dirty tricks, have been forced to beg him for their help.
This is going to get nastier than anyone can imagine.