Clinton counts the cost of victory

HAVING narrowly escaped a disastrous defeat, President Bill Clinton has been carefully playing down the triumphant but extraordinarily precarious passage of his deficit-reducing economic package through Congress.

Although the victory is widely seen as his biggest policy achievement to date, the President and his aides toned down their celebrations by emphasising that the bill is only the first step in plans for economic reform. 'Our work is far from finished,' he said.

The restrained back-slapping was not least because Mr Clinton, who last week spent hours on the Oval Office telephone cajoling reluctant Democrats into line, has been dealt a painful reminder of the difficulties of imposing his will on Capitol Hill.

The bill, which aims to trim the US federal deficit by almost dollars 500bn ( pounds 337bn) over five years, passed through the House of Representatives and the Senate by a tiny margin. In the Senate, which was split 50-50, the bill only got through after Vice-President Al Gore cast a tie-breaking vote. In the House, it squeaked in 218-216.

The victory came with a price. Mr Clinton is believed to have been angered by the manner in which he was forced into bad-tempered negotiations with Bob Kerrey, his rival for the Democratic nomination for the presidential candidacy.

In the end, Mr Kerrey decided not to carry out his threat to vote against the bill, which he believes to be too soft on spending cuts, but only after some stinging remarks on the floor of the Senate. Mr Clinton should move off the 'low road of the too-easy compromise or the too early collapse,' he said.

After days of behind-the-scenes arm- twisting, Mr Clinton must now begin the potentially difficult process of trying to fulfil promises which he struck in return for Democratic votes, principally a pledge to put together another package of government spending cuts this autumn. Where those cuts will fall is unclear.

He is also gearing up for its next big battle on Capitol Hill, which is expected to begin later this year when he unveils his long-awaited health care plan. There are predictions that the plan will include unspecified new tax hikes - which are guaranteed to cause a further outcry and deliver another battering to his lowly position in the popularity polls.

(Photograph omitted)