The great unchronicled story of the 1990s boom is the grab for wealth by a tiny international

The great unchronicled story of the 1990s boom is the grab for wealth by a tiny international elite riding high on the back of globalisation. The Third Way presumes it will do both.Mr Blair told John Humphries that there are three ways we can move on now the 1990s boom is over The first is to continue as before This, the Prime Minister declared, was not on. The Asian financial crisis, Russia’s implosion, the prospect of the contagion spreading to Latin America, the collapse10 days ago of LTCM, the hedge fund so gilt-edged that even the central bank of Italy invested in it, the pounds 10bn bankruptcy of Japan Leasing, the possibility that a major Japanese or even American or European bank may fail, and the fact that we will be lucky to escape a global recession at least as severe as the 1990-92 recession all make this an impossibility.The second way to go is to put a clamper on the free flow of capital around the world, Mr Blair said. Imagine an opening of the books in hoary, deeply, cynical Zurich! Imagine what would crawl out of the woodwork.Simultaneously, if the Prime Minister is interested in maximising our human resources, he might call for an end to offshore tax havens.

It hardly chimes well, however, with the widening gap between rich and poor. So how does the Government reduce this gap during a recession in 1999 when it was already having a tough time doing it during boom times in 1997?The way ahead is for radical, imaginative political action. Boil down this phrase and what it means is tackling political taboos – putting on the political agenda things long off the agenda.If, for example, Mr Blair is seriously interested in “transparency” he might call for the repeal of bank secrecy laws in the Channel Islands and Switzerland. But the heaviest challenge to the Government in the new, harsh economic environment is going to come from people saying: What’s wrong with Old Labour?Explaining the Fourth Way, the Prime Minister will talk up the medium- term benefits of a new, “21st century architecture” for the global financial regime rather than a dismantling of it.He will thus show himself as astute in his understanding of the limits to British national sovereignty as ever We will still be ruled by bond traders. How is Mr Blair going to build on the principles of his Government in the face of a difficult, if not awful, economic situation. How will he follow through on his promise of bringing prosperity through social justice?Digging into the personal and collective resources of the nation to overcome adversity chimes well with the Dunkirk spirit Evoking this spirit has never seemed more timely. Our economic health, even in its diminished state, will still depend on developing a labour force well educated and flexible enough to outsmart the billion-strong Chinese labour force.These, however, are the easy predictions The hard call is the most important.

Not to do this would be to make himself vulnerable to the left of his party. In Blackpool last week, the spectral figures of Tony Benn and his stepchildren in the Grassroots Alliance lurked on the fringes singing the siren song of renationalisation and a return to central state planning.The Tories may yet find a new wind in the rural shires turned off by the metropolitan cast of New Labour. But these are not normal times, he will say, so the forecasts on which plans for increased health, education, and welfare spending were based have had to be revised – downward.Second, he will reaffirm his commitment to a modified form of globalisation. The Third Way, he will explain, was predicated on very, very conservative economic forecasts. Six years on, the surviving residents of the suburb are suffering physical ailments which their doctors have long suspected, and which new revelations last week appear to confirm, were caused by exposure to something more sinister than burning perfume, paints or electronic equipment.El Al, the Israeli state airline, admitted last week it was also carrying three of the four chemical ingredients needed to make the odourless, highly toxic nerve agent sarin, the gas Saddam Hussein used against the Kurds in Iraq and which killed a dozen people in the Tokyo metro in 1995.People in Amsterdam were appalled but not surprised.

Either they had some special plan for an experiment or they needed a quantity of sarin for some special purpose. This raises many questions.”Responding to the outcry, the Dutch government has ordered a full public inquiry. Beyond the chemicals which were identified last week and some ordinary industrial goods, mystery still surrounds one third of the cargo.When and if the answers come they will be of interest not just to the sick people of Bijlmermeer and Ness Ziona (who have also been demanding to know what goes on there) but to anyone alarmed at the build-up of chemical and biological weapons in a region as volatile as the Middle East.. This prescription will not appeal to many British voters, but if worst comes to worst, it will do.The Blackpool conference, then, and Mr Blair’s appearance on Today were holding actions. Make no mistake, as our politicians like to say – typically, with an emphatic hand gesture – the Fourth Way is on its way.When he does announce the Fourth Way, the Prime Minister will, of course, be at pains to clarify the situation.