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Article: Voting for Harriet. (Harriet Harman; 1996 parliamentary Labour Party elections)(Bagehot)(Column)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- July 20, 1996
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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JOHN MAJOR has little that Tony Blair would like, except his job. But this weekend Mr Blair has two reasons to envy the prime minister. Next week both men will finalise the teams to be fielded by their parties in the run-up to the general election-and here Mr Major has the advantage.
When it comes to picking his chaps, Mr Major has virtual freedom. Of course, he is getting plenty of advice, much of it from Brian Mawhinney, the party chairman, who is quick to spot the motes in the eyes of others. And of course, there are rules to obey. The sine qua non of any party leader is to keep his party together. So Mr Major dares not seriously offend the right (by, for example, ...