Tony Blair can, apparently, sound slightly wistful(怅惘的；若有所思的) when he describes how he once had a cloak-and-dagger(秘密的；谍战式的) meeting with Andy Burnham, who wanted to talk to him about standing for the party leadership. Before anyone gets too excited, however, this wasn’t in the past few months, during which Burnham succeeded in landing the job. The story dates back to 2010. That was when he was a callow member of Gordon Brown’s cabinet and understandably wary of his boss discovering not only his ambition to take over if Labour lost the looming general election, but also from whom he wanted advice.(那时他还是戈登·布朗内阁里一个稚嫩的成员，而且情有可原地对老板发现两件事心存忌惮：一是他觊觎着一旦工党输掉迫在眉睫的大选就接班的野心，二是他想向谁请教。)
据说，托尼·布莱尔在描述自己当年与安迪·伯纳姆的一次秘密会面时，语气中会略带一丝怅惘。当时伯纳姆想找他谈谈竞选党魁的事。不过，先别急着浮想联翩——这事并非发生在过去几个月，也就是伯纳姆成功拿下党魁之位的那段时间。故事要追溯到2010年。那时他还是戈登·布朗内阁里一个稚嫩的成员，而且情有可原地对老板发现两件事心存忌惮：一是他觊觎着一旦工党输掉迫在眉睫的大选就接班的野心，二是他想向谁请教。
Much has changed since then, not least(尤其是；特别是) Burnham himself. His journey out of Westminster and back again – which in his telling has become an almost spiritual pilgrimage(朝圣；朝圣之旅) of personal redemption(救赎；赎罪) – enabled him to shed the New Labour baggage that proved so cumbersome(笨重的；累赘的) during his previous, and unsuccessful, runs for the leadership. In common with Brown, Ed Miliband, Jeremy Corbyn and Keir Starmer – all of whom tried with varying degrees of success to distance themselves from Blair – Labour’s latest leader now also wants to keep Blair at arm’s length, and certainly far away from his party conference in Liverpool this week.(与布朗、埃德·米利班德、杰里米·科尔宾和基尔·斯塔默一样——这些人都曾试图与布莱尔保持距离，成效参差不齐——工党这位最新领袖如今也想与布莱尔保持距离，而且肯定要让他远离本周在利物浦举行的工党大会。)
自那以后，许多事情都变了，尤其是伯纳姆本人。他离开威斯敏斯特又重返政坛的这段历程——按他自己的说法，几乎成了一场寻求个人救赎的精神朝圣——让他得以卸下新工党的包袱，而这包袱在他此前几次竞选党魁失败时曾显得格外沉重。与布朗、埃德·米利班德、杰里米·科尔宾和基尔·斯塔默一样——这些人都曾试图与布莱尔保持距离，成效参差不齐——工党这位最新领袖如今也想与布莱尔保持距离，而且肯定要让他远离本周在利物浦举行的工党大会。
Their secret meeting long ago nonetheless underlines how often, since he left Downing Street in 2007, Blair has had a residual(残留的；剩余的) and sometimes illicit(不正当的；禁忌的) allure for those aspiring to fill his shoes(接替他的位置). Part of that is because – with the exception of Starmer – those who came after him failed to win a single general election, let alone(更别提；更何况) three. But it is also that this leader from the past still has a possibly unmatched ability to raise our sights, away from whatever the media tells us is most urgent, towards the colossal compound crisis now casting its shadow across the world and over Britain’s future.(但另一个原因是，这位来自过去的领袖至今仍拥有一种或许无人能及的能力：让我们把目光从媒体渲染的“当务之急”上移开，转向那场正给世界和英国未来蒙上阴影的巨大复合危机。)
然而，他们多年前的那次秘密会面恰恰凸显出：自2007年布莱尔离开唐宁街以来，他对那些渴望接替他的人始终保有一种挥之不去的、有时甚至带有几分禁忌色彩的吸引力。部分原因在于——除了斯塔默——他的继任者连一场大选都没赢过，更别提三场了。但另一个原因是，这位来自过去的领袖至今仍拥有一种或许无人能及的能力：让我们把目光从媒体渲染的“当务之急”上移开，转向那场正给世界和英国未来蒙上阴影的巨大复合危机。