It's pretty depressing to see No 10 officials briefing against three Cabinet Ministers already. That this comes barely 48 hours after the Budget, when all hands should be focussed on making the coalition's case on the economy to the nation and sticking it ruthlessly to Labour, makes it all the more reprehensible.
Shaking up an unreformed defence establishment and re-shaping welfare are two of the toughest ministerial briefs. Ministers must be extraordinarily focused. If they do their jobs well, they will inevitably make enemies and come under attack. Some of that will be very personal, playing the man not the ball. They shouldn't have to be checking over their shoulders to make sure Downing Street is still with them and not joining in to catch them in a cross-fire.
No surprise, either, that all three Ministers are on the right of the Party. Astonishingly it appears that many Number 10 insiders genuinely believe that the election campaign was a success and that they couldn't have done any better. They see the coalition as the best of all possible worlds, preferring to work with Lib Dems rather than conservatives on the right. A touch of humility, reflection and acknowledgement of poor strategy and tactics where necessary wouldn't go amiss. Reaching for the Alistair Campbell handbook of briefings and counter-briefings against our own side is destructive and self-defeating.It needs to end now.
