Soho TOKUTOMI mentioned that the reason why Goto was not chosen to become the prime minister even though he had been often named as a candidate largely depended on the fact that he was disliked by Kinmochi SAIONJI, the last senior statesman (genro), because he orchestrated the downfall of Saionji, the former prime minister and chairman of the Constitutional Party of Political Friends (Rikken Seiyukai), when he was the Minister of Communications in the third KATSURA Cabinet promoting the Constitution protection movement.
なお、しばしば総理大臣候補として名前が取り沙汰されながら結局死ぬまで選ばれなかった原因として、第3次桂内閣逓信大臣だった護憲運動時に前首相で政友会総裁の西園寺公望の失脚を画策し、最後の元老となった西園寺に嫌われていたことが大きいことを徳富蘇峰が語っている。