Is Britain's "poodle" Blair barking at Bush?

A new satirical pop video shows a cartoon of US President George W. Bush first tickling a poodle representing British leader Tony Blair on the White House lawn then leading him in a tango dance in the desert.

Since adopting his "shoulder-to-shoulder" stance after the September 11 attacks, Blair has become used to such lampooning by critics as an unquestioningly obedient yes-man to the master of the world's only superpower.

But with cracks emerging between them on a range of issues from the Middle East to steel tariffs, those same caricaturists may soon be depicting Blair straining at Bush's leash.

"In the wake of September 11, there was an almost automatic coincidence of views between the two, but clearly that is coming under strain," politics expert Professor John Curtice, of Scotland's Strathclyde University, told Reuters.

British media began speaking of a rift last week when Blair made a rare public divergence from Bush by failing to endorse his call for Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to be removed from power. Like other European leaders, Blair said it was up to the Palestinian people to choose who should rule them.

The Blair-Bush gap seemed to widen this week as Britain expressed disappointment over Washington's threat to block UN-backed peace missions unless US troops gain immunity from a new international criminal court.

In fact, the first cracks were spotted by some months ago when Britain sought to temper Bush's desire to launch a military attack on Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, analysts said.

Add to those issues lingering resentment at Bush's rejection of the Kyoto global warming treaty and frustration with new US tariffs on steel imports, and suddenly the much-vaunted Anglo-American "special relationship" is not looking so rosy.

In all those areas, Britain is now looking more in line with Europe than with the United States, whereas Blair had given the impression of being more in tune with Bush than the EU in the immediate aftermath of September 11.

Blair supporters may be privately happy the US-British differences will counter the humiliating "poodle" image. But they are eager nonetheless to play down the idea of a serious rift between the two.

Blair himself said on Monday that despite occasional disagreement, US ties remained the "foundation stone" of British foreign policy. "There will be differences from time to time. I think, however, it is wrong to see this as therefore colouring the entire relationship," he said.

Being close to Bush enables Blair to proclaim a role as a bridge between Washington and the 15-nation European Union bloc, which is highly suspicious of some US foreign policies.

And it also gives him a perceived global stature that he is unlikely to want to relinquish, analysts say.

"Mr Blair may disagree with the President over Arafat. But he is about as likely to surrender the status that comes from being Mr Bush's First Friend, as David Seaman is to invite Ronaldinho on his next family holiday," political columnist Matthew d'Ancona wrote at the weekend.

He was referring to the English soccer goalkeeper Seaman's gaffe that allowed Brazilian Ronaldinho to score his side's winning goal in the two countries' recent World Cup match.

"In Downing Street, they love to describe Britain as a 'pivot' between American and the European Union. It would be more accurate to describe Mr Blair's present position as that of a circus performer trying to ride two horses veering in radically different directions," d'Ancona added.

Whatever the new tensions in their political relationship, nothing seems to have affected Bush and Blair's apparently close personal relationship. That was well illustrated by their early morning workout together at a gym on the sidelines of last week's Group of Eight summit in the Canadian Rocky mountains.

"An impressive regime," Bush said of Blair. "You looked in pretty good shape yourself," the British leader replied.

Nonetheless, analysts say former American leader Bill Clinton was a more natural soulmate for Blair. "There is clearly not the same relationship with Bush that there was with Clinton," Strathclyde University's Curtice said.

Despite making the unflattering video cartoon of Blair as a poodle for his new single "Shoot the Dog", British pop singer George Michael nevertheless sees hope for the relationship.

"Mr Blair seems to have found the strength to challenge the views of President Bush, for the first time since September 11. I'm delighted and reassured by this," he said in a statement anticipating a furore over the video.

"I know I'm not alone in fearing his (Bush's) politics, and in hoping that our man Tony can be a calming and rational influence on him."