TONY Blair acquitted himself well at the Hutton inquiry yesterday. In stark contrast to Geoff Hoon, defence secretary, the prime minister had obviously not let his summer holidays in Barbados interfere with his preparations for the potentially daunting ordeal.
Now he must quickly prove he was not completely pre-occupied with the Kelly affair when he had whatever quality time a prime minister ever has on holiday.
Since Mr Blair took over the Labour leadership, he has only ever been a phone call away from the party apparatchiks and colleagues who mould the hugely important autumn conference speech and help determine the agenda for the year ahead.
As Alastair Campbell, his director of communications and strategy, was closeted with lawyers in the sweltering heat of the south of France preparing for his ordeal in front of Lord Hutton, it is unlikely there was either the time or the inclination to focus far beyond the inquiry.
Ironically, this year, like no other since Mr Blair moved into Downing Street, he needed to contemplate the future.
The government's entire domestic agenda appears to have been derailed by the invasion of Iraq and the subsequent events leading to the death of Dr David Kelly, the government scientist caught up in the unedifying battle between the government and the BBC.
Downing Street figures insist that those not immediately involved in the Kelly affair have been ''getting on with their work'' but, if the Hutton inquiry reveals nothing else, it has already given the world a glimpse of the frantic activity gripping the upper echelons of government.
Ministers have admitted in the past that most decisions in government must wait until they are the subject of the prime minister's attention. During the Hutton inquiry, the prime minister has disclosed he is prepared to micro-manage as well.
He may be called back to the Hutton inquiry, or may not, but in the meantime he has a pressing domestic agenda.
In the immediate future, he is facing the prospect of a troublesome Trades Union Congress in Brighton, and only two weeks later the probability of the most difficult Labour conference since he became the party leader.
The leaders of the four main unions are baying for blood. Although the government believes the new union leaders can never be satisfied, Mr Blair needs to offer convincing evidence that the reform of public services will not be at the expense of public service workers.
The Labour party conference in Bournemouth will be no less tumultuous, since passions are still running high over foundation hospitals, the war and the government's prickliest problem of all, tuition fees.
Earlier this week, press reports suggested Mr Blair had abandoned the prospect of a euro referendum before the general election, and now the pro-euro camp is pinning its hopes on a referendum immediately after the next general election.
Of course, if Gordon Brown reveals next year that the economic tests have been met, Mr Blair may still have time to sprint to the euro finishing line.
But, whatever the prime minister decides on the euro in the short term, he must begin to re-establish the UK's credibility in Europe. Mr Blair must take advantage of his unique relationship with the US to build an enduring bridge between the expanded European Union and Washington.
The outcome of Lord Hutton's inquiry is symbolically important for the government and Mr Blair's future, but what will eventually make or break him is the government's record on public services and the delivery of the agenda on which he was returned to power.
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