Opening the box

摘要

Ruthless ministerial reshuffles are nothing new. In 1961, Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, faced with a serious threat to his government's survival, sacked a large number of his key ministers in a move which provoked the witty retort 'No greater love has a man than to lay down the careers of his friends for his own life'. Tony Blair's May 2006 reshuffle is similar, in one respect. Faced with adverse local government election results, he has chosen to respond by a brutal reshuffle involving numerous changes to his team.