In today’s Wikileaks revelations, it is Mervyn King’s turn to be pushed through the
mill. Did he act politically when pushing for a deficit reduction plan? Was he critical of David Cameron and George Osborne or just pointing out the obvious: that the Tory leaders had not held
power before and – shock horror – were keen to get elected?
The Guardian’s reading of the cables suggests that the government’s Batman and Robin (to keep with US diplomatic style) were unprepared for the task ahead. But re-read the key passages and it is clear that Cameron and Osborne were no different from any other opposition leaders – reliant on a small staff, and unprepared for the special pleading they would face as they entered government and tried to cut the deficit. A US cable about Tony Blair in 1996 would no doubt have said the same.
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