A far-reaching decision, taken at the eleventh hour - Why?

This seems to be a week for major announcements:

Energy
Planning
HIPs

Is this considered a 'good week to bury bad news' or, at least, major announcements?

It all seems rather strange since Blair will soon be gone. Does Brown want all the clutter out of the way before he starts? Is Blair trying to secure himself a place in history other than as an alleged, potential war criminal?

Blair's message at Prime Minister's Questions today was summarised by the BBC as being, in effect, "not me guv - Blair tells MPs it's now up to someone else to decide things"

In which case, is it really a good thing that this 'headless chicken' government is announcing such a major decision as that on nuclear power? After all, as recently as 2003, the relevant minister told the Commons:

It would have been foolish to announce ... that we would embark on a new generation of nuclear power stations because that would have guaranteed that we would not make the necessary investment and effort in both energy efficiency and in renewables. That is why we are not going to build a new generation of nuclear power stations now.

(Hat-tip John Sauven on Comment is free)

For such a long-term policy area, with consequences for many future generations, is it wise to be making a decision, which reverses the direction of the government announced only four years ago, at the eleventh hour of Blair's premiership? What's to say it won't be reversed by Gordie next year?