Hague hasn’t lost his mojo

There has been no shortage of depressing news for the Tories lately. But, the other day, Benedict Brogan wrote a lengthy post about William Hague that must have made particularly unpleasant in-flight reading for the Foreign Secretary as he jetted around the South Pacific. It argued that:

“In his absence – and even when he is back in Britain – Mr Hague is the subject of a whispering campaign among his colleagues, who say that the spark of ambition has died in his heart, and with it his effectiveness as the front man for the nation’s diplomatic effort. The Foreign Office has got its mojo back, just when Mr Hague has lost his.”

First, government changes people. And for William Hague it has meant a transition to a behind-the-scenes dealmaker; indispensable to the coalition, but not as vocal as his political friends remember him (and he needed to be beforehand). More James Baker than Hillary Clinton.

Second, the Foreign Secretary was always going to take part of the blame for the coalition-induced Euro-realism that is the government’s EU policy. It came with the gilded office and, until the Conservatives win an election outright, little will change.

Finally, the Foreign Secretary has actually been quite powerful both in front of and behind the cameras. All papers to the National Security Council now pass through King Charles Street. His relationship is better with Hillary Clinton than David Miliband’s was. And Hague has focused on the part of the world that is growing increasingly powerful and commercially critical – the BRICs and the Arab Gulf – restored links to “old” allies like Japan, New Zealand and Australia, and developed a workmanlike relationship with European partners. Not bad for less than a year in office.

I don’t think the Foreign Secretary is above criticism – far from it. He could have done better to articulate a “Hague Doctrine”, for instance. I’m not convinced that the FCO has a strategy to make the Commonwealth deliver on British priorities. Links with Israel seem – whatever the underlying reality – worse now than they have been for many years, and so on. But to say that Hague is “mojo-less” seems a bit harsh.