I know, I know, it's "Summertime, and the livin' is easy" and thus the temptation is to 'lie back and enjoy it' but somehow I have an uneasy feeling about what this government is up to in 'Brokeback Mountain', far from public scrutiny. All sorts of exciting things have been promised but what will actually be produced? Setting aside for the moment the obstructions of parliamentary procedures, and I suspect the Lords might prove to be a recalcitrant stumbling block, all those bright ideas which Gove, Duncan-Smith, et al, spent the last few years honing to a fine degree of efficiency have yet to pass safely over the two hidden reefs which constantly wreck "the best laid plans of mice and men" and politicians, that is, the two layers of government bureaucracy. First, there is the Whitehall 'mandarinocracy' who, if they set their minds to it, can cut a minister off at the knees. We have already seen young Gove of the Upper Fifth made to look a fool - and I am not avoiding the possibility that he is one - with his education statistics. Next up is the secondary layer of local government, all those multi-millionaire chief executives and their entrenched quangos who will be determined to hold on to their power, perks and pensions.
Meanwhile 'Call-me-Dave' traipses round India and tells it how it is, or at least, how he thinks it is! Thus, Pakistan is accused of being a two-faced supporter of terrorism - true; and Israel is described a nation of prison guards - not true. Still, I suppose being right half the time is an improvement from that loony old Jock nutcase we had before.
As always with new governments, time must be expended - and wasted - whilst we wait for new ministers to learn the brutal facts of governmental life, one of which is that what ministers might say has very little connection to what happens - unless the minister concerned is extremely able and ruthless. Of course, with this particular government we have the added, if somewhat ghoulish, interest in watching to see whether the transplant will hold. We behold the strange sight of a Tory government having lost an arm and a leg because of their ridiculous election campaign, stumbling around with grafted Liberal limbs. They assure us that all is well and that the transplants are taking nicely but from where I sit I can already see the stitches tearing apart - and that's before they even start the hurly-burly of the parliamentary tug-of-war - to say nothing of the incipient gangrene likely to erupt as the polls begin to tell their story.
Oh well, nothing to do until autumn draws in, so until then, we might as well enjoy ourselves because "Fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high"!
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