Mr Blair is said to be increasingly frustrated by working in coalition with other Nato countries an alliance in which

Mr Blair is said to be increasingly frustrated by working in coalition with other Nato countries, an alliance in which decisions are taken by committee and everybody has to rely on people they do not know.The Prime Minister has made much of leading the international charge against the Serbian leader. He is motivated by a simple desire to see, as one aide put it, "good triumph over evil". But he has stuck his neck out beyond other heads of state, and this is a huge gamble.If the military campaign works, Mr Blair will be the international hero, his place as world statesman firmly established. If it all goes wrong, or Nato has to do some sort of deal with President Milosevic, Bill Clinton will be able to walk away, shaking his head sadly at the cameras. Mr Blair, on the other hand - who in the latest example of hawkish rhetoric last week promised "no compromise, no fudge, no half-baked deals" - will look at best naive.This is convenient for Mr Clinton, whose advisers privately admit that they are delighted that the Prime Minister has been the outrider, pushing other countries to accept the need for ground troops, so that their man can if necessary come in behind and look moderate. It is also useful for the Conservatives, who last week sought to exploit Mr Blair's discomfort over the Chinese embassy bombing, with William Hague scoring some political points at Question Time.But it is a high-risk strategy for Mr Blair. He has taken his hardline stance partly because he can - he does not face the same opposition as Gerhard Schroder does in Germany from his coalition partners in the Green Party or Bill Clinton does in the US from his political enemies.

He has also stressed the importance of fighting this "progressives' war" because he must to keep his party on side.But Downing Street has become increasingly aware that this strategy risks leaving Mr Blair politically exposed. His initial categorical statement that the international community had a duty to prevent a humanitarian crisis was clarified, during his trip to Chicago, by a more measured speech, setting out the parameters within which the "goodies' police force" could act.Alastair Campbell, the Prime Minister's Press Secretary, now spends half his week in Brussels, concentrating on directing the media operation at Nato headquarters This is no coincidence. He knows that if the campaign backfires, Mr Blair's apparently unstoppable success in the polls could finally be challenged New Labour is trying to get things back under control.. For much of the time, diplomacy looks rather like an old-fashioned conjuring trick: calm and formal with just a little sleight of hand to preserve the mystery. But when things get serious, it's more like plate- spinning in the middle of an ice-hockey match.

Such is the appointed task of the growing band appointed to mediate between Nato and Yugoslavia as the war in Kosovo heads towards the end of its second month. And it raises the question: wouldn't it make sense to choose between the plates and the hockey game? Just 10 days ago, it seemed as if the war was heading into its endgame. The West had held together, and managed to get Russia on board. Schedules were drawn up and flight plans filed for the shuttles that would take the war to an end. But after a series of blunders, surprises and reverses, it has been as much as anyone could manage to keep the act together. Behind the scenes, negotiations have edged forward, but there is still no sign that the bombing will stop or peace will come to Kosovo.