Though he is short of a parliamentary majority by five votes, Britain's Prime Minister James Callaghan has kept his Labor government in power since August by combining the boldness of a crap shooter with the cunning of a political confidence man. Even so, Callaghan constantly teeters on the edge of defeat. Last week he almost fell, surviving an unexpected vote of confidence only through a jerry-built majority of the moment.
The confidence vote came after Callaghan had lost two other votes in a debate on his anti-inflation policy—which galls the unions because...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In