The new Coalition Government has had something of an enigmatic start. It feels rather unfamiliar and hard to acclimatise too. A bit like meeting your mate’s charming new boyfriend, only you didn’t know he was gay.
There are of course no visible cracks in the coalition as it ‘cleaves to the mould’ of power. But it has not yet been put under any substantive pressure. Ministers fall out with each other all time and it’s not always just about egos, occasionally it is about political philosophy. It will be illuminating to see how Ministerial bickering between figures from different parties can be resolved.
Aside from the rather sickening liaison between Cameron and Clegg, George Osborne and David Laws are maintaining the façade of their close working relationship at HMT. The Steve Bell’s portrayal of George as a sneering, sickly Victorian child was quite apposite but now Laws has taken on the role of Osborne’s limp puppet lolling on the exchequer’s sequined arm.
The tensions over the finances are certain to create some inter-Coalition division. But the focus at present is on Clegg pushing for electoral reform referendum in May 2011. The Tories need not fret, as that old crocodile, Francis Maude (above) at Cabinet office knows. The simple AV vote is not proportional and may yet solidify Tory electoral gains especially if combined with making uniform size seats and knocking out 10 percent of MPs.
Like most young relationships, the main protagonists find conflict difficult to cope with. Cameron has foreseen an ugly punch-up with the old farts over 1922 Committee and 55% vote over dissolution of Parliament. But a PM is not defined by dodging bullets but his capacity to fire them back. If anything he should be seeking trouble to establish his authority.
It is of course much easier to dictate policy and bark orders at pliant Ministers of your own party. Intimidating a Lib-Dem Minister may even encourage them to re-discover the point of principle and resign. Perhaps that is Dave's longer-term plan after all.
There are of course no visible cracks in the coalition as it ‘cleaves to the mould’ of power. But it has not yet been put under any substantive pressure. Ministers fall out with each other all time and it’s not always just about egos, occasionally it is about political philosophy. It will be illuminating to see how Ministerial bickering between figures from different parties can be resolved.
Aside from the rather sickening liaison between Cameron and Clegg, George Osborne and David Laws are maintaining the façade of their close working relationship at HMT. The Steve Bell’s portrayal of George as a sneering, sickly Victorian child was quite apposite but now Laws has taken on the role of Osborne’s limp puppet lolling on the exchequer’s sequined arm.
The tensions over the finances are certain to create some inter-Coalition division. But the focus at present is on Clegg pushing for electoral reform referendum in May 2011. The Tories need not fret, as that old crocodile, Francis Maude (above) at Cabinet office knows. The simple AV vote is not proportional and may yet solidify Tory electoral gains especially if combined with making uniform size seats and knocking out 10 percent of MPs.
Like most young relationships, the main protagonists find conflict difficult to cope with. Cameron has foreseen an ugly punch-up with the old farts over 1922 Committee and 55% vote over dissolution of Parliament. But a PM is not defined by dodging bullets but his capacity to fire them back. If anything he should be seeking trouble to establish his authority.
It is of course much easier to dictate policy and bark orders at pliant Ministers of your own party. Intimidating a Lib-Dem Minister may even encourage them to re-discover the point of principle and resign. Perhaps that is Dave's longer-term plan after all.
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