Author(s): Jonathan Powell

Biography

'Niccolo Machiavelli is misunderstood,' argues Jonathan Powell in his twenty-first-century reworking of the Italian philosopher's influential masterpiece, "The Prince". Taking the lessons Machiavelli derived from his experience as an official in fifteenth-century Florence, Powell shows how these lessons can still apply today. Illustrating each of Machiavelli's maxims with a description of events that occurred during Tony Blair's time as Prime Minister, "The New Machiavelli" is designed to be "The Prince" for modern times. Tony Blair's Chief of Staff from 1994 - 2007, Jonathan Powell recounts the inside story of that period - drawing on his own unpublished diaries. He tackles the critics of Blair's 'sofa government' and gives a frank account of the intimate details of the internal political rows, the failure to join the Euro or hold a referendum on the European constitution, the struggle with the hauliers strike and the foot-and-mouth outbreak that postponed the 2001 election, the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo, as well as the peace negotiations in Northern Ireland, the relations with Clinton, Bush and Chirac, the banning of fox-hunting, the triumphs and failures of spin and the scandals and inquiries - ranging from Bernie Ecclestone to the police investigation into 'cash for peerages'. Like "The Prince", "The New Machiavelli" is short, stark and clear. It provides a gripping account of life inside 'the bunker' of Number 10 and draws lessons from those experiences, not just for political leaders but for anyone today who has access to the levers of power.