Utter guile — the art of politicians (10)

I believe the answer is:

statecraft

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'art of politicians' is the definition.
'statecraft' can be an answer for 'art' (I have seen 'art of government' mean 'statecraft' so perhaps 'art' could also mean 'statecraft'). I'm unsure of the 'of politicians' bit.

'utter guile' is the wordplay.
'utter' becomes 'state' (stating is a kind of uttering).
'guile' becomes 'craft' (synonyms).
'state'+'craft'='STATECRAFT'

'the' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for statecraft that I've seen before include "required for government business" , "ministers need" , "Political talent" , "Diplomacy" , "What a PM should have" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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