Listening to the Chilcot enquiry today, you can almost imagine him squiriming in deep discomfort as the questions came raining in. Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, wishing it would all be over soon. It's an ordeal which must raise grave doubts about his future, especially when those who haven't yet seen or heard today's events tune in to the highlights on the evening news.
What's that? Blair? Oh no, I didn't mean Blair, I was referring to Gordon Brown.
It's two and a half years since the vast majority of British voters have heard Tony Blair speak so publicy. They will have mostly forgotten how smooth a speaker he is, how persuasive and erudite his demeanour, and how effortlessly he handles public pressure.
Here he is, over the course of six hours, being relentlessly quizzed, with the spotlight of the world's media on him, and with an anti-war contingent hanging on every syllable for signs of error, contrition, or weakness.
Yet he has let almost nothing past his guard and has instead appeared confident, measured and, most importantly, honest. Whether it is the real Blair on show or just the skilled actor only he will truly know, but the public perception, far from being the high profile slaying some were hoping for will, I suspect, be largely positive.
And perhaps importantly, today's performance will highlight the noticeable differences between Blair and Brown, which should make Gordon feel rather uneasy.
Blair didn't litter his answers with ums and errs like Brown, there was no stumbling over words, or mid-sentence corrections. Nope, his quick mind considered each question, paused if need be, before delivering his responses with consummate eloquence.
Contrast this with Gordon's monotone communication. His regular flustered gaffes. Blair wouldn't have blundered into claims to have saved the world, or have boasted of spending increases of zero per cent. When Blair speaks, he chirps, while with Brown, one hears the murmur of storm clouds in the background.
For many, hearing and seeing Blair again in a public setting will merely emphasize how very poor Brown, the communicator, is in this new era of personality politics.
There is talk of Blair joining Labour on the campaign trail for the general election, but if I were Brown, and I intended to remain as leader of the Labour party until polling day, I would want Blair as far away as possible. His presence would only serve to remind the electorate that if they vote Labour, they won't be getting the jewel in the party's crown, but the fake Rolex with a cracked face and a stuttering minute hand.
As such, Blair's testimony will have been welcomed by any pretender to Brown's leadership. Anything that detracts from the PM's public approval can only be good news for the likes of Alan Johnson and Harriet Harman, and when Brown takes the stand at the same enquiry, the gulf in class will only be further illustrated if Brown can't match Blair's unflustered ease ... which he won't.
The re-emergence of Tony Blair into the public eye today could have the effect of hastening Brown's exit ... because he's just, well, not Tony. I'd have thought that Johnson and Harman, maybe ickle Miliband too, will be quietly pleased at the day's events.
While the Tories will just be hoping that any potential coup comes later rather than sooner.
