By Iain Martin
The Foreign Secretary is communicating with the outside world mainly by tweets on Twitter, it appears. In recent days he has used the social networking site to thank the public for messages of support and say that he is pleased to have nailed the big lie about his private life.
One can understand his frustration after recent events. He sounds pretty hacked off, so much so that his colleagues would not be surprised if he walked out of politics. If not right away then at some point in the next couple of years. A lucrative semi-retirement beckons with books to write, witty speeches to make and money to accumulate.
What would be the impact of a Hague departure? We journalists like to portray such events when they occur as epoch-defining harbingers of a great crisis for the government of the day. Wouldn’t the loss of Hague unbalance the government, somehow throw the coalition into chaos and represent a serious set-back for David Cameron?
I don’t think it would. Cameron has grown in office; the days in which he needed the Hague association to bolster his credentials are behind him. And Hague is not the power he was. As I wrote last week, the presumption that he would succeed if Cameron was hit by a bus looks redundant.
Hague then is no longer an emergency leader in waiting. And he appears, understandably, to have lost a chunk of his appetite for politics.
What would David Cameron do if his Foreign Secretary resigned? Appoint another one. I suspect it would be Nick Clegg post the AV referendum, or perhaps George Osborne if it’s far enough into the parliament and the PM thinks his friend’s work at the Treasury has gone well. Or someone else if they are required sooner. Life will go on.
2 comments:
Yep, he's gone.
This foreign secretary is very much seems to be supportive. As he thanks all the people for their support.
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