Zero to hero Hunt?

Jeremy Hunt is the big winner from today’s reshuffle. But the move from Culture Secretary to Health will prompt head scratching from those who thought Jeremy Hunt’s political life was to be cut short by the Murdoch scandal that claimed his special adviser.  So what’s the logic? And where does it lead for those who enjoy indulging a bit of crystal gazing?

A few months ago, with texts and emails released between News Corp and Hunt’s office (initially purported to be from Hunt himself but then revealed as his sidekick), the Culture Secretary looked dead in the water. He’s said himself he went from hero to zero, and then apparently back again – aided by some very successful Olympic and Paralympic Games organised partly by his department.

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But with the Leveson Inquiry to report – and likely to suggest statutory regulation of the press – Hunt’s days at DCMS were going to get tricky. If strong voices like Michael Gove get their way and the government decides to give self-regulation a last chance it would be very difficult for such a known supporter of Rupert Murdoch as Jeremy Hunt to be the one to rebuff the findings of Lord Leveson. So moving him was always likely. But anything less than a promotion could have been seen as an admission that he had been wrong over the whole Murdoch/hacking/BSkyB saga. And that would have brought the whole matter another step closer to David Cameron. So Health it is. And with the promotion the strengthening of Jeremy Hunt’s position in a future leadership contest.

This is a department that will give him the chance to show what his real political instincts are. Will they reveal him as a pro-market reformer the right of the Conservative Party can applaud? We will see. And who would be his rivals among the Cameroons? George Osborne looks less likely than ever to inherit the crown. And despite increasing talk of Michael Gove in some newspapers he is more likely to back a winner than be one himself. He has spoken warmly of Jeremy Hunt in the past – being the one to reveal the Culture Secretary as a nifty ballroom dancer with a floor installed at his house. So after this reshuffle smart money for the next leadership contest might well boil down to Boris Johnson v Jeremy Hunt.

Follow @krishgm on Twitter.