Coalition agreement: First 100 days that will make or break new accord

Published on Wednesday 12 May 2010 23:04

THE first 100 days of the power-sharing coalition will test the mettle of David Cameron and Nick Clegg's partnership and make or break the new government entrusted with turning round Britain.

• Most of the 232 new MPs elected last week pose with the House of Commons doormen in Westminster Hall, at the Palace of Westminster, yesterday.

Despite yesterday's jocular press conference, both leaders know huge challenges lie ahead and will have to be overcome if their partnership is to flourish for the next five years.

Day one saw Foreign Secretary William Hague convene a National Security Council to get a grip on Britain's role in Afghanistan, a problem that plagued the previous administration. Tomorrow, Mr Hague is off across the Atlantic to meet US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as the administration embarks on a charm offensive to rebuild the special relationship.

That burst of activity on the international stage will be closely followed by attempts to tackle domestic problems.

The failure of the Tories in Scotland has created a constitutional headache for Mr Cameron and one of his first tasks will be to honour his promise to head north to meet First Minister Alex Salmond. That meeting will take place within days, in the week beginning 17 May, and the Prime Minister will try to reassure Mr Salmond that he will treat Scotland with respect, despite the Conservatives' lack of a "mandate" north of the Border.

In an attempt to cement his role as a staunch defender of the Union, Mr Cameron will also include visits to Northern Ireland and Wales.

But constitutional niceties – although complex and fraught with difficulties – are far from the most taxing challenges facing Messrs Cameron and Clegg.

The coalition deal document identified reducing the UK's 162 billion deficit and economic recovery as the "most urgent issue facing Britain", but the first steps towards cutting that yawning deficit cannot be taken until parliament returns.

The first programme for government to be unveiled by a British coalition for 70 years will be made public during the Queen's Speech on 25 May.

It will include plans for an emergency Budget that Chancellor George Osborne has vowed to put before parliament within 50 days. That Budget will hold the key to our economic future. But long before that, work will have already started to crack down on public-sector waste.

The Budget will formalise the power-sharing administration's plans to make "modest cuts" of 6bn in the 2010-11 financial year.

While pain is inflicted at home, Britain's new political double act will be under pressure to prove itself on the world stage.

This summer, Mr Cameron and Mr Osborne have the G8 and G20 summits to negotiate. They are, respectively, on 25-27 June and 26-27 June. There is also the small matter of hosting their first official visit by a foreign leader when French president Nicolas Sarkozy comes to the UK on 18 June to mark the 70th anniversary of the appeal issued by General Charles de Gaulle through the BBC to the citizens of Nazi-occupied France in 1940.

Meanwhile, 2 July marks the deadline for the emergency Budget. Mr Osborne may be a trusted friend of Mr Cameron, but his appointment as Chancellor did not meet with approval from many Lib Dems, who believe their man Vince Cable would have been a more astute choice.

As one of the most controversial Tory politicians, Mr Osborne will know that a strong performance in front of other finance ministers at the G20 summit will answer some of his critics.

Likewise, any signs that the Chancellor is not completely on top of a complex and changing financial situation, with the pound and the euro under threat from the collapse of the Greek economy, will increase the anti-Osborne mutterings.

At the G8 summit, Mr Cameron will have his chance to rebuild Britain's relationship with Barack Obama, which suffered under the perception that the US president and former PM Gordon Brown were not close.

The state of the special relationship depends much on the chemistry that appears to exist between the countries' respective leaders.

There will be an opportunity to strengthen that relationship in July, when Mr Cameron is expected to travel to Washington as Mr Obama's guest. The month also offers some light relief with the World Cup final on the 11th.

But what will Mr Clegg's role be during high-level meetings on the international stage?

One of the Lib Dems' fears is that, as Deputy Prime Minister without a formal brief, he may retreat to his pre-TV debate anonymity.

To keep his party on side, the Lib Dem leader will have to make sure he is not seen to come off second best to Mr Cameron. His challenge will be to keep his profile high by carving out a role for himself, a task that will go beyond performing well when he is given the odd chance at the Dispatch Box during Prime Minister's Questions.

Otherwise, the sort of obscurity into which many US vice-presidents have sunk beckons – something to ponder during the summer recess which begins on 21 July.