Their sin has been to spend too much time on their departmental business. Eh?

Ministers might be forgiven for thinking that being obsessed with their own department's business is no bad thing. And if that means spending little time loftily expounding New Labour philosophy, so be it.

That, surely, is a job for the Prime Minister. That's what Prime Ministers are for. They are meant to give leadership (intellectual or otherwise). They are meant to paint the "Big Picture".

Yes, from time to time, individual ministers might well wish to contribute to that philosophical debate. But an endless stream of "Big Picture" speeches? Spare us.

The Downing Street spokesman explains that he is a great admirer of the previous (Tory) government's practice of providing a constant flow of "think" speeches.

Every weekend (especially) the fax machines would churn noisily as a bunch of ministers delivered grim speeches which rarely proved newsworthy. If this is the template for New Labour's "Big Picture" campaign, it is hardly electrifying.

There is another bizarre side to all this.

If New Labour had spent the past eight months specifying policy details across government departments, it might be credible to claim that voters needed help in re-identifying the "Big Picture".

But with all due respect to Mr Blair and his colleagues, they have categorically not blinded us with policy details. The very opposite, in fact.

Mr Blair has made countless speeches reminding voters of Labour's main election pledges (remember the pledges on a credit card-sized bit of red plastic?).

Smaller classes, a strong economy, a positive attitude to Europe, constitutional reform, faster treatment of juvenile criminals. They spring to mind very easily, thanks to the incredible frequency with which they've been repeated.

Indeed, "Big Picture" is a phrase that entered the list of political cliches quite a few months ago. It was used by Blair aides to describe the very project now being urged on the cabinet. The Prime Minister has been painting the "Big Picture" ever since last May.

If Labour's research tells them that voters have lost sight of the "Big Picture", it is hardly fair to hint very strongly that cabinet ministers are to blame.

This initiative will have a perverse effect in the short term, though it might bear fruit in months to come. It merely draws attention to the weeks of grim headlines the government has suffered recently.

It is meant to prove that whatever the obsessions of journalists, Mr Blair will not be deflected. But it suggests that Mr Blair is somehow rattled by the recent run of events.

His personal ratings are still impressive. William Hague's are cringingly small. The Labour Party's lead is also significant. But is has been consistently narrowing since last summer.