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The Coalition has attracted an array of bad headlines of late.
Although the Tories' vote in the recent local elections held up reasonably well, the same cannot be said for their coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats.
Their Leader was quick to promise that he and his party would be more assertive in government and willing to fight the Liberal Democrats' corner in opposing much of the Tories' proposals for reform of the NHS.
Clearly rattled by the bloody nose dealt him and his party, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg's petulant outburst following their poor showing in the polls and the result of the referendum on the Alternative Vote going against him, will have impressed very few people, especially those supporters still furious at his abandoning of the Party's pre-election pledge to oppose any rise in student tuition fees.
I am left wondering if the coalition can survive so many Liberal Democrats opposing these changes to the NHS, which after all, weren't in the Conservative manifesto and are changes being proposed for which the Government has no mandate.
To add to the Prime Minister's woes, Business Secretary Vince Cable has continued to snipe at the Tories from inside the Government's ranks, with David Cameron seemingly unwilling or too frightened to remove him for fear of uprooting the coalition.
David Laws, the former Chief Secretary to the Treasury has faced suspension from the House of Commons for his role in the expenses row which cost him his Cabinet job so soon after taking office. A rising star, admired by both parties in the Coalition, Laws' chances of a quick return to government have taken a severe blow.
Chris Huhne, the Climate Change Secretary, is now the subject of a police enquiry over allegations that he persuaded his wife to take penalty points on his behalf for a speeding offence in 2003. Clearly if it is established that he did indeed break the law, Mr Huhne's position will become untenable.
But the prize for the biggest recent faux pas has to go to Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke. His comments during a Radio 5Live phone-in implying that some rapes are more serious than others, have provoked fury from all quarters. Labour leader Ed Miliband immediately called for him to be sacked and was quite right to do so; a Justice Secretary has to show that they have some empathy for, and an understanding of what it is like to be, the victims of crime, otherwise they should not be in that position. It was, without doubt, Miliband's best performance at PMQs to date, where he had the Prime Minister - who had not yet heard Mr Clarke's interview - clearly on the run.
Mr Clarke may not have meant to trivialise rape or its effect on the victim. Indeed the basic principle behind the new proposals on sentencing is a sound one; if a defendant pleads guilty at the earliest opportunity then that will indeed spare the victim the trauma of having to give evidence in court and relive their horrendous experience.
The Justice Secretary is, however, guilty of putting forward his case in the clumiest way imaginable, since the new guidelines will apply to all offences, not just rape. It is just deplorable to imply, however unintentionally, that there are some circumstances in which rape can not be considered 'proper' or 'serious'.
Not surprisingly, the Secretary of State's choice of words led to a storm of protest from rape campaigners and victims unlike. The lady that called in to the radio show obviously extremely distressed by what Mr Clarke had said, deserved in my view much more than an impersonal letter of apology from the minister; it would have been far more appropriate if he had actually phoned her to say sorry.
David Cameron had had very little frontbench experience when he became leader of the Tories in 2005. And it was perhaps right, when in Oppostion, that he called upon many former ministers from the Thatcher/Major era - including Mr Clarke - to bring a wealth of experience into his Shadow Cabinet team.
Now in Government, however, the Prime Minister cannot afford to give the impression that he and his ministers are out of touch on such sensitive issues. Having made such a momumental blunder, Mr Clarke should have immediately offered his resignation and not given interview after interview refusing to apologise and repeatedly maintaining that he had said nothing wrong.
If this Coalition is going to maintain any credibility, I cannot see how Mr Cameron can keep Mr Clarke in his post.
Having not gone straight away, it will be astonishing if Mr Clarke is not sacked from the Cabinet or at least moved to another position come the next reshuffle.
When a seasoned political operator as experienced as Clarke comes out with such an appalling and inexcusable gaffe, it is a clear sign that they have had their day.
Kenneth Clarke is a reminder of the Conservative Party's past and it is now time for him to graciously step aside.
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