Once again, Tony Blair has narrowly avoided a defeat over the biggest single issue to have battered and even defined his premiership - Iraq.
After a heated and sometimes emotional Commons debate, and despite the Tories lining up with other opposition parties and Labour rebels, a move to force a fresh inquiry into the war was defeated.
But the vote - which was close but not as bad as it might have been for Mr Blair - was another graphic reminder, if any was needed, of the divisions the war has sparked on the Labour benches and the bitterness still felt by some towards the prime minister's actions.
And it again underlined the fact that, of all the things Mr Blair may wish to stand as his lasting legacy, it is that decision to go to war on Iraq that will hang over everything else after he has left Downing Street.
It also came at a time when doubts over the current position in Iraq appear to be increasing and when the outcome of the American mid-term elections could have a profound effect on US and, as a result UK, policy for the country.
Nods and winks
It was the Tory decision to vote against the government that raised the real prospect of a dangerous defeat for the prime minister, particularly as they were not following nationalist demands for an immediate probe, but one in the next parliament when it is expected many troops will have been withdrawn.
The government's nervousness about the whole issue was in evidence as the whips ordered all MPs back to the Commons and various nods and winks were offered to minimise the Labour rebellion.
Shortly before the vote it was made clear that, while Mr Blair was refusing to announce any inquiry now, that did not rule out such a move after the withdrawal of British troops and under a different premier.
Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett then told MPs during the debate that there would "come a time when the issues will be explored in the round", although she stopped short of promising a Falklands-style probe after the conflict.
Won the day
She also warned that Iraq may be at a "turning point" and that now was not the time to "rehash" all the old rows over the war.
That followed earlier warnings from the prime minister's spokesman that demands for a new inquiry risked undermining British troops in Iraq.
All that may well have swayed some of the rebels, but it is also the case that some on the Labour benches could not bring themselves to vote with the Tories and the nationalist parties, who led the demands.
They believed the Conservative position smacked of opportunism from a party which supported the war.
Defeat would not have required Mr Blair's resignation, but it would have represented a significant new blow to his authority in his last months as premier and as he continues to face pressure from many on his own side to quit Downing Street long before the May deadline he appears to have in mind.
As it is, he may have won the day, but once again Iraq has emerged as the biggest issue on which Tony Blair is constantly being judged.
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