When David Cameron resigned as British Prime Minister after losing the Brexit referendum in 2016, he offered a scathing assessment of “future” MPs. Few, perhaps even Mr Cameron, expected him to return.
However, on Monday morning he was walking into the tree-lined entrance to 10 Downing Street to accept his appointment as Foreign Secretary from current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. sir. Cameron’s appointment must be one of the most notable transformations in British political history.
sir. For Sunak, presenting himself as an agent of change is not only a surprising choice, it is also a very counter-intuitive one. sir. Cameron is little more than a bridge to the conservative past. The decisions he has made and the principles he has followed, Mr Sunak’s government today, are of dubious lineage that helps explain the erratic behavior of the politically beleaguered Prime Minister.
He said few public figures more sympathetic to Brexit than Cameron had campaigned against it. He resigned after a narrow majority in Britain, including Sunak, voted in his favour.
Mr Others, 57, is linked to austerity, the economic policy introduced by Cameron when he took office in 2010. Britain’s public services, including the crisis-hit NHS, have been blamed for the famine. sir. The popularity of the Sunak government.
In 2010, Cameron’s victory formed a coalition government with the centrist Liberal Democrats, marking the beginning of a long era of Conservative rule. sir. While Sunak sometimes embraces this tradition, he also seems to contradict it, especially with his emphasis on fiscal responsibility.
“Leave no doubt, it is time for change, this is the time for change,” he told Conservative Party members at their annual conference last month.
It is not clear how the appointment of a former prime minister fits into the definition of change. But Cameron’s appointment serves another purpose: as James, the flamboyant Foreign Secretary, takes over as Home Secretary from Suella Braverman, Sunak needed someone experienced and familiar. In Ukraine and Gaza.
“There is a chance – a weak chance, but a chance nonetheless – that the UK will have greater influence on the world stage in times of serious international conflict,” said Timothy Bell, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London. .
sir. By appointing Cameron, Sunak will help pull his government towards the centre, where Braverman’s fiery comments have sparked criticism that the government has become extreme and reactionary on issues such as immigration. Cameron is also very interested in foreign policy. As Prime Minister, he created a National Security Council similar to that of the White House.
“Chonak is not very interested in foreign policy,” said Jonathan Powell, former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s chief of staff. “It’s a case of ‘I don’t have to worry about this next year, who can I delegate foreign policy to?’
But Professor Bell said the internal politics of Cameron’s appointment were “very difficult to guess”, “certainly leaving aside a day or two of distraction due to Suella Braverman’s late departure”.
Because of his handling of the Brexit referendum, Cameron remains a divisive figure, even within his own party. Some conservatives accused him of political expediency and sought to suppress the party’s restive right wing. Others said he led a lackluster campaign against Brexiteers such as Nigel Farage and another former prime minister, Boris Johnson.
Cameron said that given how much the European Union had changed over the decades it had been a member.
However, Michael Portillo, a former minister, said the 2016 referendum “will be remembered as the biggest mistake ever made by a British prime minister” – a move not uncommon in political circles.
Tom Bradby, ITV presenter of the year 2019 Mr. When Cameron was interviewed for the launch of his memoir For the Record, he said viewers wrote to him: “I hope you apologize to him. “The mess he left behind.”
“I accept that my approach has failed,” Cameron wrote in his book. “The decisions I made contributed to this defeat. I am to fail.”
sir. Cameron’s fiscal austerity under Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne also cast a long shadow over his tenure. sir. Cameron defended the policy as a necessary response to the global financial crisis. He pointed out that he left the British economy with more jobs than it had when he took office.
But cuts in public spending to institutions such as the NHS have left deep scars. sir. Sunak has promised to reduce waiting times in NHS hospitals, one of his five main goals. sir. Critics predict it will be an uphill battle due to years of underinvestment by Cameron’s government.
sir. Cameron’s poll numbers were already low, and he said his reputation had been further tarnished in 2021 after he was embroiled in a lobbying scandal on behalf of failed Anglo-Australian financial firm Greensill Capital.
sir. Cameron, who then served as Chancellor of the Exchequer, sent a text message to Sunak. sir. Sunak took no action on the allegations, but raised questions about why the company had so much access.
sir. Cameron did not break any laws, but his actions took advantage of the former leader’s image. According to the Financial Times, he will earn $70 million in Greenshell stock options; The collapse of the company has rendered it useless. He traveled to Saudi Arabia with company founder Lex Greensill, where the two camped with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
By all accounts, Mr Cameron has had a comfortable political career. He received an advance of £800,000 ($980,000) for his memoirs. He joined several boards and became president of an Alzheimer’s charity. He continues to play tennis at a club near his home in west London. In 2017, Mr. Cameron’s wife, Samantha, started her own women’s fashion business.
Cameron, who graduated from Eton and Oxford and whose father was a stockbroker, was already a member of the British elite. Now she can add to her career in the House of Lords, which King Charles III granted her on Monday, so she can qualify to take on the position of Foreign Secretary. sir. Cameron stepped down as an MP in 2016; Ministers must serve in the House of Commons or the House of Lords.
Mr Cameron’s six years in Downing Street will make him a well-connected foreign secretary. But critics are scrutinizing his administration’s foreign policy positions, some of which in retrospect appear questionable.
sir. Cameron hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2015, declaring a “golden era” in relations with Beijing. He joined the US-led military intervention in Libya in 2011, which led to the overthrow of dictator Muammar Gaddafi, but was criticized in Britain for the messy consequences.
Obama once attended a college basketball game as a guest of President Barack Obama. Cameron developed a close relationship with the United States. But after Syria used chemical weapons against its own people, both were criticized for their plans for revenge.
sir. Cameron cited the fact that Parliament had not approved the military strike as one of his reasons for abandoning the planned attack. Obama mentioned. sir. Cameron personally supported military action, even if he could not convince lawmakers. Ultimately, Obama decided against it.
“In Syria, I don’t think we saw things the same way,” Cameron told the New York Times.
“Friendly zombie guru. Avid pop culture scholar. Freelance travel geek. Wannabe troublemaker. Coffee specialist.”
