John Smith's current historical reputation is trapped between two extreme interpretations: he is seen as largely irrelevant by Labour arch-modernisers, and as an almost saintly figure by his adorers.
The former go to too far in making 1994 Labour's year zero, with everything that came before considered irrelevant, while some of the latter so idealise Smith's memory that they want to close down discussion of anything that does not fit their image of him.
Neither interpretation will do. Smith was not a saint - he was a normal human being, with all the attendant frailties and weaknesses. But he was also a significant figure in the history of the Labour party, and deserves more than to be airbrushed out of history.
One of Smith's greatest achievements - much underestimated by the modernisers - was to heal the wounds caused by the abrasive leadership of Neil Kinnock.
Kinnock believed the best way he could demonstrate his love for the Labour party was to grip it firmly by the back of the neck. But the problem with this style of leadership, however necessary it may sometimes be, is that it has a limited lifespan - too many people get upset, hurt and bruised. By 1992, Labour needed a healer - and Smith fitted the bill perfectly.
He rebuilt the links between the leader's office and the large parts of the Labour movement that felt left out of the loop during Kinnock's leadership. Modernisers complained that Smith wasted valuable time with his meeting and greeting, but - unlike them - he appreciated the depths to which morale had fallen after Labour's fourth consecutive election defeat.
Very quickly, Labour backbenchers detected the change in atmosphere. When Dennis Skinner telephoned to ask what Smith was doing to oppose the Tories over pit closures, he was surprised to gain a meeting with the party leader the very same day. Smith was especially tolerant in his dealings with those on the left of the party and, as one observer remarked at the time: "The people who like Smith most are those he disagrees with."
But his style of management went beyond a mere balancing of left and right - the elective principle was important to him, and he believed every elected Labour MP had a contribution to make to the party.
He had a special skill in working the Commons tearooms and bars - the sitting down and enjoying "a dram and a tale" with ordinary backbenchers. Smith was the ultimate House of Commons man, but he also possessed the self-confidence to manage the parliamentary Labour party in this way.
Neither his predecessor nor the man who was elected to succeed him were able to bind with their backbenchers in the same fashion: neither Kinnock nor Tony Blair enjoyed (or were any good at) working the Commons tearooms and bars. It is a question of a certain sort of personality, which Smith possessed in spades.
Of course, government is harder than opposition - but the lesson for today's leadership is still clear. Making a little time to listen to the gripes of the poor bloody infantry is important. After eight years in power, and newly embarked on a third term, those who seek to marshal the massed ranks of the PLP could learn much from the Smith style of leadership.
The lesson for tomorrow's leadership is, perhaps, even clearer. Once again - this time after Blair's juggernaut leadership - Labour needs a healer, someone who can make backbenchers and party members feel included, wanted, involved, even loved. That is the challenge facing Gordon Brown.
· Mark Stuart's authorised biography of the Labour leader, John Smith: A Life (Methuen, £25), written with full access to Smith's papers and documents, is published today
