LONDON, Nov 3 (AFP) - The "special relationship" binding Britain to the United States is unlikely to change with the re-election of US President George W. Bush, despite the political costs suffered by his staunchest war ally Tony Blair, analysts here said Wednesday.
The prime minister has had to battle backbencher revolts within his own Labour Party and tumbling voter approval ratings after his decision to join Bush in the March 2003 invasion of Iraq.
"The reality is, there is no point denying this, that Tony has taken a big political hit as a result of what is perceived to be a strong relationship with President Bush," Blair's former press secretary Alistair Campbell told BBC radio.
"That is just something that he is prepared to take because he thinks the benefits to the country outweigh the political damage that might be done to him," he said.
"The reality is that if you are the British prime minister, you have got to get on and have a meaningful and strong relationship with the president of the United States, whoever that may be."
For some, the "special relationship" across the Atlantic is the continuation of bonds forged by Blair with former US president Bill Clinton, then strengthened when Bush declared a "war on terror" in the wake of the September 11 attacks three years ago.
But the transatlantic tie has come at a price for Blair, battering his promised plans for Middle Eastern peace and greater European unity.
"Blair came into office as the most pro-European prime minister in at least a generation, and that part of his agenda has arguably been a cost of the Iraq aventure and of his relationship with Bush," Dana Allin of the Institute for International Strategic Studies (IISS) told AFP.
"I think it will contribute to unease within the Labour Party", he said, referring to Bush's victory.
Michael Clarke, director of the International Policy Institute at King's College, London, said Blair was now counting on Bush to help him carry through on his announced goal of reviving the stalled Middle Eastern peace process.
"He certainly believed that President Bush was sincere in wanting to make progress on some sort of "roadmap" design once he got the Iraqi crisis out of the way," Clarke told AFP.
"I do think that matters greatly to Tony Blair's credibility."
But Lord William Wallace of the London School of Economics warned the British leader should not expect any favors from the White House, emboldened by its fresh four-year mandate.
"Tony Blair shouldn't expect a reward for the British alliance, although there is some understanding in the Bush administration that you can't ask the British any more."
"It would have been much more comfortable (for Blair) if Kerry had won because there's a clear preference in the Labour," he told AFP.
The Evening Standard newspaper predicted that the ongoing Blair-Bush alliance could slant, but not threaten, Labour's showing in a general election expected next year.
"It may not lose Labour the election, but it could be the difference between a big majority and a narrow one," it said.
11/03/2004 19:28 GMT - AFP