Very Different Things

TorgoX on 2002-10-02T23:23:37

Dear Log,

«Mr Blair's problem here, however, is that he is better at identifying what is not the answer than he is at setting out what is. His main answer to the imperatives of public service renovation is to issue all-points promises of "modernisation" and "reform" as the best answers. These are not necessarily the best words to use any longer, because they mean such different things to so many different people. It was certainly striking to hear a Labour prime minister say that "the radical decision is usually the right one" and that "we are usually at our best when we are at our boldest". The trouble is that different people mean very different things by words such as radical and bold.»

--"Seizing the moment: Next Blair must deliver his promises"