Premier Dr. David Saul may soon be feeling he can't please anyone -- ever.

His decision to move Mr. Tim Smith from the Ministry of the Environment to the Ministry of Youth and Sport following his remarks in the House of Assembly two weeks ago has all the appearances of a compromise which admits some wrongdoing, but refuses to accept any consequences.

Dr. Saul may genuinely feel that Mr. Smith deserves another chance after apologising for his ill-judged remarks over the radio last week, and by moving Mr. Smith to another Ministry, he appears to think that he can at least restore the Environment Ministry's reputation for integrity.

Perhaps Dr. Saul deserves some credit for his generosity of spirit, and it may be that Mr. Smith will be able to restore his reputation with a change of portfolio.

It may also be that Dr. Saul feels that he needs to stick by his Cabinet, which he maintained was the best available at the time of its formation. The recent events concerning Mr. Smith will have done little to support that notion, which was never widely shared to begin with.

But if Mr. Smith had really done nothing wrong -- or expressed sentiments which Dr. Saul claims all politicians must have felt at some time or another -- then perhaps Dr. Saul would have done better to stand by his man.

Alternately, he could have wiped the slate clean, accepted Mr. Smith's "honourable'' although belated resignation, and appointed a new Minister to the post.

By doing neither, it is clear that Dr. Saul and Mr. Smith still fail to recognise is that it was not simply Mr. Smith's ability to deal with one planning appeal, or his ability to lead the Environment Ministry, which was thrown into question by his comments, but his integrity in general.

And because Cabinet Ministers are bound by collective responsibility, Dr. Saul and the rest of his colleagues, including Ms Pam Gordon, who succeeds Mr.

Smith, have all had their honesty questioned.

By threatening to delay one appeal -- whether or not he had done so or even intended to -- Mr. Smith threw the whole planning process into doubt.

And the public had every right to worry that the same attitude might exist in other Ministries.

Had Dr. Saul let Mr. Smith go, he would have gone a long way to dispel that fear, and would have added to his own reputation for decisiveness.