A government at the mercy of events

A government at the mercy of events The decision by Moody’s to cut the rating of the UK government from AAA to Aa1 is neither surprising, nor informative nor, in itself, damaging. But it is humiliating for the coalition government. It indicates that its programme of fiscal austerity is failing, on its own terms. Since cutting the deficit and retaining the AAA-rating were its overriding policy objectives, this has to be politically damaging. Alas, without a strong economic recovery, the position is likely to get worse. The government has put itself at the mercy of events.
http://link.ft.com/r/S4XZQQ/YG2BGH/0GB0NQ/EXVAYM/PNCG8I/T3/h?a1=2013&a2=2&a3=23