Cameron in a corner over Europe
In a crisis your best laid plans can go up in a puff of smoke when you lose control of events, says Paver Smith's Dougal Paver.
It means being constantly alert and forever on your toes - and having response mechanisms that help sustain your position within the fray.
And so it is that the prime minister has had to change his stance on how he might contribute to the forthcoming treaty changes proposed by the EU to save its love child, the single currency.
On Monday he was showing his negotiating hand by saying that there was no need for a referendum and that Britain would be supportive, in broad terms, of the EU's aims. "Nothing to see. Move along, please" was the general tenor of his stance. Prime Minister knows best, etc.
Er, not quite so fast pal, came the refrain from within his party. What about the EU's plans to attack our thriving financial services sector, which pays 17% of the country's tax receipts? And what about all the meddlesome legislation that saps the energy of our entrepreneurs? Surely now is the time to flex the negotiating muscle that comes from having a veto and the option of calling a referendum and put such guff to the sword?
Ministers from Owen Patterson to Ian Duncan Smith very publicly boxed the prime minister in to a corner and he has had to concede. The ever-present threat of rebellion - not to mention that of Boris Johnson - has seen a volte face by Number 10, with a thundering editorial by Cameron in today's Times explaining how he will defend Britain's interests.
Meantime, the folly that is the euro limps on with a lack of leadership (it was never part of the currency's architecture) making for a communications vacuum. Bringing light to proceedings was Boris Johnson with this memorable quote: "we're in danger of saving the cancer, not the patient."
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