Chapter 521 Hidden Meeting Participants
The one who raised the question was naturally Sir Humphrey. The other ministers all kept silent and just watched the two people confronting each other silently.
The reason is very simple, that is, there is actually no absolute right or wrong between the two people. The Minister of Industry has to make such a great sacrifice to say this.
It was based on long-term strategic considerations, while Sir Humphrey represented more of everyone present.
In other words, the interests of the current government, even if personal interests are involved, are definitely not the decisive factor.
This is politics. Sometimes there is no right or wrong, only a question of how to choose sides.
The Minister of Industry finally understood this only at this moment. He had previously thought that it was the guy in front of him and the entire civil service system represented by him.
Only after exchanging interests with the wealthy people in the City of London were they prepared to sell out the interests of the country and make such a huge change.
It now seems that he had misjudged his goal from the beginning, and it was not only Sir Humphrey and the civil service system behind him who made this decision.
What's more, the Queen's ministers around him, who were elected by the people, finally understood things that they had not understood before.
He had never been able to figure out that his plan was correct and flawless from any angle.
Why are my colleagues unwilling to support me anymore? It turns out that the problem is not the correctness of the plan, but the time.
Now I finally understand the political proverb that is widely circulated in Whitehall.
Downing Street is permanent, but prime ministers come and go.
There is indeed nothing wrong with his plan. This plan will leave a ticket to the future for the British Empire.
But it won't deliver anything for any of you here; that plan will require at least two full terms of government.
Only then can it be fully implemented, and by that time most of you here will have retired and left the political stage.
Even if you are invited to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony, your words will only take up less than one or two sentences in the speech.
As for hoping that the future prime minister will remember the contributions of everyone here, it is better to pray that they can support their plans again now.
And now that I think about it, there may be more than just these people in this house, there are also senior officials in the European Community far away in continental Europe.
I'm afraid there are many people who hold the same idea. As for the future of Europe, after I die, even if there is a flood, it will be fine.
The Minister of Industry slowly returned to his seat, a man known for his toughness in both the workplace and politics.
At this moment he still chose to retreat. He had the courage to sacrifice his political life for his country, but the prerequisite was always a glimmer of hope.
Now his forward was filled with despair. No matter how eloquent he was, it was impossible to change anything.
"Since you are unwilling to say anything more, John, I think this meeting is over. I think you will not have any other opinions on the plan proposed by Sir Humphrey."
"Then let's turn today's cabinet meeting into a formal proposal and wait until next Monday when the House of Commons meets."
"Let's put it to the parliament for a vote, and form a plan as soon as possible for formal implementation."
"I'll leave the details to you, Sir Humphrey."
Jim Huck smiled at Sir Humphrey.
Then he looked at the Minister of Industry who had sat down again, with a complicated look in his eyes, as the political leader who had promoted him.
Of course, he was very dissatisfied with the other party's behavior today, and at the same time he felt very sorry.
To be honest, he did not want to dismiss the other party from his ministerial position because compared to other colleagues who were seemingly on good terms with him but actually at odds with him.
This minister, who is not too scheming but is capable and dares to make decisions, has always been his right-hand man.
And since the other party has no political capital, there is no need to consider his loyalty. In fact, he also appreciates the other party's courage to argue for his own plan.
But for reasons of political authority, he had no choice after this meeting.
"Yes, Prime Minister!"
So after Sir Humphrey said that classic closing remark, Jim Hacker looked away and stood up and left.
After he left, other ministers also stood up and left, until finally the Minister of Industry left the conference hall alone, somewhat staggeringly.
After he left, the door closed, the bright lights were turned off, and the whole room returned to darkness.
"You took such a big risk and brought me here. What exactly do you want to say? Haven't you already won?"
"You have all the chips, you can show off, you can be proud, but there is no need to humiliate me like this."
After an unknown amount of time, the peaceful darkness was broken by a dissatisfied argument.
A match was lit, and in the orange flame, two completely different faces were reflected. One was a handsome young man with high spirits, the other was a handsome young man with high spirits.
A middle-aged man who looks exhausted and haggard.
The person who spoke was Lucius Malfoy. At this moment, he looked like a homeless person on the streets of London, and his usually neat and clean hair became messy.
His clean-cut face was covered with stubble, his eyes were bloodshot, and the deep dark circles showed that he hadn't had a good night's sleep for a long time.
The person on the other side was naturally Carl, who was currently using a match to light the cigarette in his hand.
The rare light was very obvious in the darkness until he blew it out with his own mouth and the room fell into darkness again.
There was only a strange red dot, faintly visible in the darkness.
"Of course I'm not humiliating you, Mr. Malfoy, although saying this now may sound a bit pretentious."
"But what I still want to say is that from the very beginning, you were not an evenly matched opponent in my mind."
"After going through so much, you should have understood that you have fallen into a trap from the very beginning. Your failure is already doomed."
"It's not that I didn't give you a chance. All the money you earned in the early days can actually be regarded as my extra reward to you."
"You can take the money and leave, then cooperate with me honestly, and I will still pretend nothing happened."
"But you..."
"So what if I did it."
Before Carl could finish his words, he was interrupted by Lucius. Neither their expressions nor their movements could be seen in the darkness.
But Lucius' voice revealed a rare toughness.
"There's no need to tell me these things anymore. In the minds of many people in the British wizarding world, I, Lucius Malfoy, am just a villain who likes to curry favor with the powerful."
"But the nobility has the pride of the nobility. I never regret the choices I made, no matter what people whisper about behind my back."
"I'm still humiliated by you in front of me. I admit what I did. It's no big deal."