In his first political test after the Iraq war, British Prime Minister Tony Blair has fared well. His Labour Party suffered larger than expected losses in local elections last week, but such votes are usually protests against the party in power. The prime minister benefits from a weak opposition. Mr. Blair is most likely to remain unchallenged until the Conservatives can find a credible alternative.
Some 340 local councils -- with more than 10,000 seats in England -- were contested, in addition to parliamentary votes in Scotland and Wales. Mr. Blair's Labour Party lost 800 seats, while the Conservatives picked up 540, making them the largest party in local government. In the Scottish and Welsh ballots, though, Labour topped nationalist parties to maintain its status as the largest political force.
Mr. Blair can take solace from the low turnout -- less than 50 percent in some districts. He also knows that local elections are a typical vehicle for voters to register discontent with the incumbent government. Given the widespread opposition to the Iraq war in Britain, especially in Wales and Scotland, Mr. Blair can rightly look at the ballot as a victory of sorts.
His chief rival, Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith, is less optimistic. He needed a bigger victory after his party lost two consecutive elections by a large margin. No one considers last week's results sufficient. Worse, a senior official resigned his party post, declaring that Mr. Duncan Smith was incapable of leading the Conservatives out of the wilderness.
Mr. Blair has been strengthened by last week's vote. His stand on the war has been acknowledged by the voters and rewarded; that will elevate his position in councils considering the postwar order.