A crunch week ahead for the Prime Minister. Yes, another one. Never mind spreadsheets on rebellious Tory MPs: is anyone keeping track of how many make or break moments Boris Johnson has faced as Prime Minister?
In this case, Mr Johnson awaits the report from senior civil servant Sue Gray on “partygate". The latest estimated time of arrival for the document is Thursday.
With five days being a long time in politics, the Sunday shows were agreed that there was not much to be gained from more speculation about the Gray report.
Instead, they would move on to other serious matters, such as Russian tanks revving their engines on the border of Ukraine, and the lifting of Covid regulations and whether this signalled the end of the pandemic (no, basically).
In the end, the hosts of Sunday Morning and Sky News’s Trevor Phillips on Sunday, and every other political journalist, could not entirely resist speculation about the partygate report. They are only human, after all.
The designated Minister for the Sunday shows was Dominic Raab, whose day jobs are Deputy PM and Justice Secretary.
The choice of such a notably loyal lieutenant could have been a sign that few other Ministers wanted the job of defending Mr Johnson. The more interesting choice will be next Sunday. Will Michael Gove, Liz Truss, or Rishi Sunak be out batting for the boss, and if not why not?
That takes us into the realm of speculation, the place Mr Raab did not want to go when Raworth asked if Mr Johnson would resign if the Gray report went against him.
Earlier, the Sunday Morning host asked the Deputy PM if he could be PM by the end of next week.
“It’s a kind offer Sophie, but no,” said Mr Raab, momentarily discombobulated before giving his stock “wait for the Gray report” answer.
Other questions followed. Was the Government preparing for a vote of no confidence; would the report be published in full (“That’s for PM to decide”). Each one batted away.
READ MORE: PM to rule on report publication
Raworth had another try. “If the Prime Minister was having parties in his flat during lockdown should he resign?”
Mr Raab said he would not respond to “these hypothetical questions”, to which Raworth replied, “It’s not hypothetical, it’s fact finding.”
The interview rumbled on, going nowhere, although it did emerge that Mr Raab had not phoned around MPs to rally support for the Prime Minister.
When she is away from the day job Raworth is known for running marathons. Not just any old 26-milers: the BBC staffer has a six-day “ultra marathon” in the Sahara Desert to her name. You may wonder whether this works to her advantage in interviewing politicians. It takes a certain amount of endurance and strength of attitude, after all, to complete a marathon.
Last Sunday, in the first of her New Year interviews with party leaders, Raworth’s persistence with Keir Starmer paid off in as much as the Labour leader became flustered when asked several times about being seen drinking a beer during lockdown. It was a work event, he insisted.
Yesterday Raworth had the chance to put the pressure on Nicola Sturgeon. As usual, the First Minister was in her preferred spot for live interviews – the conservatory at her home in Glasgow. She sounded right at home, too, when tackled by Raworth on whether Scotland’s stricter adherence to Covid rules had been more successful than the approach in England. What the Scottish Government did was worth it, Ms Sturgeon insisted.
There were no errors, forced or otherwise, on the part of the First Minister. She did say that a decision will be made “in the coming weeks” on a date to introduce a referendum bill.
READ MORE: Sturgeon sets out timetable
The encounter was different from the kind of tussle Raworth’s predecessor might have had with the First Minister.
Andrew Marr’s interviews, not just with Ms Sturgeon but with politicians from across the political spectrum, tended to be more combative, with complaints to the BBC to show for it.
Was his style ultimately any more illuminating than Raworth’s? Or is any broadcast interview with a politician now more like a hurdle race than a marathon, with both sides simple trying to get to the finish line without tripping up?
Interviewing such an experienced politician as Scotland’s First Minister is not a daunder in the park for any reporter. Perhaps the greater task for Raworth lies ahead, when she sits down with the leader of the Conservative Party. Who will that be? Now you're asking.
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