May was riding , after her post election misfortunes, high before the Christmas break, having secured both consent for the deal struck with the EU at the end of Phase One and the backing of her fellow EU leaders. There was trouble with her friend Damien, but that could easily be fixed at the much trailed Cabinet Reshuffle after Christmas and her now famous goose. So all set for Mega Monday and a new look Government. She now had the power to reshape it in her image and stamp her authority upon a divided cabinet. But the wheels of the project began to fly off in all directions.
It had already become clear, in spite of lurid briefings before the holiday, that she could not touch the three big offices of state, Treasury, Home and Foreign offices. That smacked if not of outright weakness, certainly of limits to power. But then push back on her Conservative Party ( now a rump with only 70,000 members, average age late sixties and predominately white male) plans, Tweets appeared and were cancelled, Ministers instead of doing as they were told and going where they were sent began to argue and refuse. The day wore on and ended in a mess, with May’s authority shattered and the government looking much the same.
So, for how long can this go on? That is anybody’s guess. But sooner or later key decisions will have to be made which will divide the government further and perhaps bust apart the fractured Tory party for keeps. It could happen that she muddles on. But then again it could all end. Quite suddenly.