Politicians and mandarins: 1: From consensus to divide

Abstract

Civil servants have come under increasing attack from the present Government. Was there ever a golden age of harmony within the governing elite? Do top mandarins effectively represent a political force with its own transcendental view of the national interest? In the first of two articles, based on lengthy interviews with those directly concerned, the history of the break‐up of the wartime consensus is traced through to the present state of armed neutrality.