 Share
|
Email
Print
|
 |
| Antony Hare |
Britain’s new prime minister faced two tests when he formed his first government this spring, and surprised the country both times. The margin of Cameron’s victory in May’s general election was too small to let the Tories rule alone. Instead of offering the Liberal Democrats a limited voting pact on specific proposals, he offered seats in the cabinet and invited them into a full and, he hopes, lasting coalition. It is bound to be a turbulent marriage, since few Lib Dems are comfortable with the partnership, but it might be a fruitful one, and while it lasts, it will entirely recast British politics.
The new coalition’s most pressing challenge was economic policy, and again Cameron was brave. Rather than waiting for financial markets to dictate the terms of the country’s needed fiscal correction, the coalition announced tax increases and spending cuts at the high end of what was feasible, kicking in faster than many economists think wise. Cameron is reducing public borrowing by 9 percent of GDP in five years. Few other over-borrowed countries are tightening as severely, and those that are, unlike Britain, typically have no choice. The spending cuts will lop off a full quarter of some department budgets. Once the consequences start to be felt, resistance in the country will rise, and the pressure on the coalition will no doubt increase. On fiscal policy, as on the terms of the partnership with the Lib Dems, Cameron may turn out to have erred, but you have to respect his taste for the unexpected.
National Portrait Gallery
|
The Civil War
President Obama reflects on what Lincoln means to him and to America, in an introduction to our special issue. Read more › |
Snow Circles
Buenos Aires: Inception Park
Video Documentary: The Impact of a Principal
James Fallows on Obama's first term, Raymond Bonner on the death penalty, Christopher Hitchens on G.K. Chesterton, and more
Browse back issues of The Atlantic that have appeared on the Web. From September 1995 to the present, the archive is essentially complete, with the exception of a few articles, the online rights to which are held exclusively by the authors.
See All Back Issues: September 1995
Does the White House Only Love Good Journalism When It's Not About Them?
Some Super PAC Organizers Are Taking a Big Cut of Donations
Bomb Attacks Kill Dozens in Iraq and Pakistan
Boozy, Brawling Wisconsin Mayor Gets the Boot
The High Cost of a Homelessness Surge
How New York Pay Phones Became Guerrilla Libraries
Join the Discussion
After you comment, click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be asked to log in or register. blog comments powered by Disqus