But quite often, even when they are not trusted, governments are respected for being in control, for shaping events. It is when political leaders appear to be at the mercy of events that they are in deep trouble. Look at what happened to John Major, once hailed for his reassuring competence and then viewed with disdain as he lost authority. Some Labour MPs are starting to mutter that what is happening now reminds them of that last tottering Conservative administration. A single decision to go to war has unleashed a torrent of events, as if the gods are seeking revenge.
No wonder there are cock ups, breakdowns in communication between exhausted officials and exhausted, demoralised ministers.The growing perception in Britain of a government no longer in control of events is incomparably more damaging than a loss of trust. Politicians in this country tend to be viewed cynically at the best of times. In reality they become dependent on events out of their direct control. Most obviously they are in the hands of military leaders and their troops on the ground.
As we are discovering these are not always the most reliable hands to be in.For British political leaders the loss of control is even greater They do not lead a superpower, but choose to follow one. Their weak position is made worse because the US government is not in control of itself.Divided from the outset, President George Bush's administration has never had a clear sense of what it wanted to achieve internationally. Before 11 September 2001, Mr Bush had not made a single speech on foreign affairs There was a simple reason for this. His advisers could not agree on what it was they wanted to say. The British Government follows a US administration that does not know where it is going. No wonder ministers here are not in control, tossed around by events. The current controversy over the torture of Iraqi prisoners is a case in point, a dark metaphor for the war as a whole.
The British scandal is a tiny echo compared with the disastrous and apparently systematic torture carried out by some US troops. But then again that has been the British voice in this war, a tiny echo.Tony Blair says he did not know about the Red Cross report on the British abuses until earlier this week. Evidently there has been a cock-up rather than a sinister ministerial conspiracy. Yesterday in the Commons, during Prime Minister's Questions, Blair did not explain why he did not know He is in another trap.