Before the election, the received wisdom was that the new government would not have much of a honeymoon. The thinking went that the anti-politics mood was so strong and the cuts required so deep, that there’d be no May ’97 style moment. But the coalition has changed all that. One poll shows a 60 percent approval rating for it.
The coalition is also getting a positive response from the international commentariat. Most of today’s New York Times op-ed page is given over to praising it. David Brooks says that the coalition might become a ‘model for all the other countries in the same desperate straits.’ Praise in the foreign press might not make much impact on the British electorate, but it will help Cameron’s standing on the world stage.
Cameron needs to take advantage of this unexpected honeymoon. He would be well advised to instruct Osborne and Laws, the new Treasury team, to use the emergency budget to set out the programme of cuts that will start in the next fiscal year.
Comments