Cameron’s reshuffle: cowardice or sound tactics?
Cameron's demotion of Michael Gove was either the mark of a 'disloyal weakling' or a canny and successful political move.
The impact of David Cameron's controversial cabinet reshuffle continues, with the demotion of Michael Gove from education minister to chief whip creating the most heated debate. "With less than ten months to go to polling day", says James Forsyth in The Spectator, it just shows that "politics trumps policy".
But "there is more to politics than tactics", says an editorial in The Sunday Times. "Governments need to demonstrate their purpose." By moving "one of the genuine radicals in his government", Cameron risks "leaving the Conservative partywithout a vision". And surely "the public-relations-driven cynicism of Cameron's reshuffle is so blatant that it will disgust rather than inspire", says Peter Hitchens in the Daily Mail. In truth, Gove's reforms "were greatly overrated", but at least he "got himself disliked by the right people". Meanwhile, by choosing "cheap, superficial cosmetic change the prime minister has shown himself a disloyal weakling" in the face of the pollsters.
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