AS WORLD leaders discussed international aid for Africa, Tony Blair scribbled notes and doodled. Unfortunately for him, after the World Economic Summit in Davos, Switzerland, his notes fell into the hands of a Emma Bache, a graphologist.

Her verdict: the Prime Minister’s surprisingly chaotic script indicates an aggressive, unstable man who is feeling under enormous pressure.

Mrs Bache, who regularly carries out employee assessments for firms such as Barings, said: “I analysed his writing 18 months ago and there are marked differences. Then, his writing was much more fluid indicating that he felt more easy-come-easy-go. The ticks, such as the upward stroke on the ‘t’ in taxes, were not so angular.

“He is a lot more assertive and aggressive than in recent years because there are lots of very angular strokes. There is a lack of curves and a lot of irritability which he is struggling to keep under control.

“There is also a lot of retracing of the strokes, which I have never seen him do before. He is feeling very much under pressure so an obsessive-compulsive nature is coming out. The pressure he is putting on the pen is also quite heavy, which is an indication of stress and tension.” Mr Blair may have been feeling some antipathy towards those at the meeting, including the Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates and the rock star Bono, who are both considerably richer than him, she added.

Ms Bache said that the Prime Minister’s writing changed depending on whom he was writing to. “There are some people who really get his goat. If he doesn’t like someone he becomes very aggressive with big ticks like the one on the end of the ‘t’ in taxes.”

The Prime Minister has always used upward loops in his writing which indicate someone who is particularly concerned with appearances, according to Ms Bache.

She said: “There are a lot of phallic symbols — loops such as the ‘b’ and the ‘l’ in debt cancellation — which he’s always had in his handwriting.” She added: “You often get these loops with artistic and creative people, but Tony Blair is not in this category. With him it’s a case that he is too easily swayed by appearance.”

Mr Blair’s handwriting and doodles also demonstrated an overwhelming desire to stand his ground in the face of criticism, even when he knows he is wrong. “He is someone who doesn’t like to lose face . . . He is incredibly stubborn; you can see this from the way the ‘t’ in ‘taxes’ is below the baseline. Even when he knows he is wrong he won’t back down.”

The boxes and triangles on the page are also significant, she said. “He is thinking, ‘Nobody will distract me from this. I will have the final word and I won’t be distracted’.

“The triangle and the cross are dark symbols, perhaps symbolic of a death wish. In a normal script which is not a doodle they are often written by people who are seriously ill.” Mr Blair has had heart problems, but Ms Bache thinks this aspect may be more symbolic of the risk to his political career.

The changes in Mr Blair’s handwriting show that “he is slightly out of control, very frustrated and stressed. This is obvious in the huge amount of retracing and the huge disparity in the size of the letters.”

Ms Bache concludes: “There is more than a hint of megalomania about him which I haven’t seen before.”