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Article: Focus - Labour's First Test: All corridors now lead to Downing Street The Prime Minister and his advisers have created the most presidential government in our history, says Tom Baldwin
- Article from:
- The Sunday Telegraph London
- Article date:
- May 11, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1997 The Sunday Telegraph London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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THE Prime Minister wants to be called "Tony" in Cabinet, his
family amble around Downing Street in sportswear, the Chancellor
blinks in disbelief at the works of art hanging on his walls and
insists on eating in the Treasury staff canteen.
These seem like genuine people - normal, informal - unconcerned
with the trappings of power and untainted by the stuffiness which
has infected Whitehall for so long. But this should not be confused
with a casual or even relaxed approach to government. Everything,
including the Cabinet addressing each other by their first names,
has been minutely planned and cleverly packaged.
Such details are, according to one well-placed insider,
"cost-free ways of making ...