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When Robin Cook resigned from the Cabinet last week in protest at Tony Blair's decision to authorise military action without the backing of the United Nations, it was obvious he was positioning himself as the potential leader of the Labour Party. The calculation runs as follows:

1. If Iraq turns into a political-military disaster and Blair's political career is over, everyone will remember the noble Mr Cook resigning 'on a point of principle' and look to him for the kind of pseudo-moral stance Blair has managed to employ successfully in the early stages of his office. And at least, Gordon Brown will not be the only obvious, if unpopular choice.

2. If Blair is vindicated and Saddam's regime quashed, the process may be so bloody that it will eat away much of its political capital. With the end of Iraq war, the reality in Britain's backyard will start to bite - the French, the EU, the crime, the schoolsandhospitals etc.

3. The Labour Party has been having its rude awakening as to the nature of Blair's leadership for some time and there is an increasing number of Labour MPs becoming more vociferious in their disagreement on a range of issues.

And they need a leader! - Mr Cook concludes and exactly a week after his 'principled' resignation he hints that "he is prepared to act as leader of centre-Left discontent in the Labour Party as he promised to fight for more 'radical' and 'progressive' policies from the backbenches". How public spirited of him!

Cook says that Britain now finds itself in a diplomatic position 'that it will come to regret'. Too close to America, too far away from Europe. This is his worldview:

Where should we be looking for the future direction of Britain's strategic international relations, for me the answer is Europe, to make sure that we are a major player and we are passionate that Europe speaks with a strong voice which means we try and speak without a divided voice.

There are many reasons for that but the need to have an alternative pole, not a rival, but an alternative pole within international affairs is one of them. I have always been strongly committed to a multilateral system. We must respect international institutions.

We need to engage in an international community that can bring to international forums and state with clarity the type of European values that are certainly not shared by many of those in the Bush administration.

Firstly a respect for multilateral protocols, secondly if we are going to achieve a world governed by rules then we need to respect international process. There are two other European themes: a respect for global environmentalism and that the priorities of the international community reflect the massive priority of tackling poverty.

I smell a rat. Or a Tranzi. Oh, wait, it is the same thing...

image by the amazing Scrofula!