Cabinets come in all shapes and sizes depending on needs, except maybe in politics where size is important. Carpentry it isn’t. Size matters because it is often a numbers game of deciding who is in and who is out.Never ever discount the mathematics of politics. We currently have a cabinet of 13 under the new One Bermuda Alliance Government, which is practically the maximum permitted under the Bermuda Constitution Order 1968.The Order specifies that there can be a maximum of up to 12 from members who have elected to the House, and up to a further two from appointments to the Senate.What is key is not just picking the right members but the right number of members from those on the Hill.Anybody who is elected is eligible.That is the only required qualification unless of course you are a Senate appointment and where electability is neither here nor there.But after the Premier, who has to be in the cabinet, he is the leader after all, there are only, eleven more possible seats at the table. Quite naturally those who don’t make it are likely to be disappointed.They not only lose out on the power and prestige that comes with a Ministerial portfolio, but the opportunity to earn the extra money that comes with being a cabinet minister whether full-time or part-time; although quite what the choice entails, other than the difference in salaries, we taxpayers still don’t know. They won’t tell us.But I digress. Back to the plot. If cabinet is the place to be — and it is if you are a MP from the party that won the Government — the leader will want to make sure he has more members who are happy than unhappy with his choices.I won’t even get into that other principle of politics that it’s wise to keep your friends close and those who may not be, even closer. In either event, it is not surprising that a leader will look to build a majority of support within the Cabinet.In the case of the OBA Government, you do the arithmetic.You can see where the majority lies of their members on the Hill: eleven in; eight out, aspirants all.So it was more than interesting then to recently read that the Premier is reportedly mulling over reducing the size of his cabinet.A reduction was apparently a recommendation of the UK’s national school of Government first made to the PLP when it was in power.Oddly enough, it was also a promise in the OBA election campaign, and it might yet be a recommendation of the SAGE Commission given its broad mandate to find efficiencies and savings within our cash-strapped Government.It may interest readers to know that the 1968 Bermuda Constitution Order already allows for a minimum of a cabinet of seven, Premier included.Now do the arithmetic. There will be more in than out. That could well prove a challenge to the party leader.There will be a strong backbench, at least numerically, to which the cabinet would have to be particularly sensitive.But while that may make for challenging times for the party in caucus, and maybe even on the floor of the House as well if matters are not resolved behind closed doors, this may not be a bad thing for the rest of us voters and taxpayers.Aside from the obvious savings, we might actually see the development of robust and active backbench on the Hill of both Government and Opposition members, which, not just through debates, but through the more frequent use of the committee system, may well lead to closer and keener oversight of the Executive.It could also lead to an entirely different culture on and off the Hill as Government MPs look for ways and means to make their mark through closer and — this is key — acceptable scrutiny of colleagues who just happen to sit in the cabinet.Am I dreaming or just in need of a holiday?* Write jbarritt@ibl.bm with your views or share them by blogging on The Royal Gazette website.