There is a time for everything, unless you’re delaying an election

Time and the exactitude of timings are often the defining elements in politics. At the start of a government, all seems possible. If a government is being re-elected, the stress of the election and of the build-up to it can lead to a slackening in its aftermath.

The fact of being re-elected to your seat and, if fortunate, of being re-ensconced in ministerial office, dulls political energy, especially the energy required for change.