Crace

在 Charles 和 Camilla 按照严格指令出席活动时，国会议员们目睹了公务员们令人极度不安的窘态。我们并不常见到高级公务员在公开场合露面。他们通常避开公众注视，坐在办公桌后，试图说服他们的部长不要对政府部门做出过于具有毁灭性的举动。究竟为什么他们仅仅因为履行职责就能被授予爵士或女爵勋衔，这仍然是人生的谜团之一。我们其余的人只能偶尔收到老板发来的一封邮件。但在过去一周里，两名顶级公务员被迫就 Keir Starmer 任命 Peter Mandelson 为驻美大使的决定，在外交事务委员会面前提供证词，而这一过程也非常具有启发性。尤其是可以看到，他们是多么讨厌任何来自公众的额外关注。看到他们因被接受质询而表现出的明显不安，实在令人感到难受。继续阅读...

Every PM hopes to emerge having said nothing that makes the news, and with Iran centre-stage Keir played a blinderWhat a difference a week makes. At last week’s prime minister’s questions, Keir Starmer tried to persuade us that he knew less than he did. His memory was so bad that he could barely remember who Peter Mandelson was, let alone why he had appointed him as ambassador to the US. Fast forward to Monday’s appearance before the liaison committee, the supergroup of select committee chairs, and Keir was desperate to convince us he knew more than he did. He had the inside track on Iran. He was in control. He also wasn’t altogether convincing.Mind you, it’s hard not to feel some sympathy with Starmer. The whole point of being prime minister is that you’re expected to know more than the rest of us. And most of the time you do. State secrets are your life blood. Only just occasionally the veil slips. Having threatened to obliterate Tehran’s power plants just days earlier, on Monday morning Donald Trump announced on Truth Social – along with a strange witch reference – that he was going to delay the bombardment for five days as constructive talks with the Iranian regime were taking place. Continue reading...