EVIDENTLY, with the toppling of Chancellor Gordon Brown's right hand man, Treasury press chief Charlie Whelan, Tony Blair is hoping to have seen off the damaging Cabinet rivalries it exposed. Yet, if axing the Chancellor's trouble-making henchman is a victory for Mr Blair, can it be a lasting one if the feud between himself and Mr Brown still simmers?
All leaders are beset by power struggles behind the scenes.
But it seems futile for Mr Blair to hope that Mr Whelan's sacking lands a knock-out blow on his opponent next door in Downing Street - whose brooding silence suggests more rounds to come.
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