Politics: Cameron is good in a crisis – but bad at avoiding them

David Cameron was two years old when Muammar Muhammad al-Gaddafi seized power in Libya.

David Cameron was two years old when Muammar Muhammad al-Gaddafi seized power in Libya. Forty-one years later, he finds himself the eighth British Prime Minister wondering what to do about the Mad Dog of the Middle East.

How Cameron approaches this question tells us much about his approach to leadership. Admirers of the Prime Minister often boast that he is ‘at his best in a crisis’. This is true. But what is also true is that things too often have to reach crisis point before the Cameron machine fully engages. This is why, after less than six years on the political frontline, he has three times had to give a speech to save his career.

Libya is a classic example of how a crisis ebbs and flows under the Prime Minister. Last Monday, as Cameron walked through Tahrir Square in Egypt, the Foreign Secretary ordered the evacuation of British nationals from Libya.