By Andrew Grice in Birmingham
Before the Tory conference, David Cameron was concerned that the event would look too triumphalist because of the party's commanding lead in the opinion polls. He need not have worried. Now the pendulum has swung to the other end of the spectrum. The Tories are putting on a brave face but they are frustrated and gloomy. The global financial crisis has cast a long shadow over the conference, reducing the Tories' media exposure and creating a mood of uncertainty in Tory minds. Gordon Brown is back in the game. A government can act; an opposition can only talk. Some MPs believe David Cameron did not look "at home" when fending off questions about the crisis in TV interviews.
However, he looked good today when he made an unscheduled 11-minute speech to the conference, using some of the lines he had penned for his keynote address tomorrow.The Tory leader wisely decided not to make political capital out of the crisis, offering support and co-operation as the Government wrestles with it. He said Britain could not afford a US-style row between the parties. This was a clever line, although a Labour source quipped: "We weren't aware of a US-style problem here."
Cameron was statesmanlike impressive in a speech designed to answer Gordon Brown's wounding attack that he is a mere "novice" and to prevent Labour painting the Tories as in the City's pockets. But I don't expect the new spririt of inter-party co-operation to last. Indeed, a Labour official has just told me: "We take this offer with a huge pinch of salt. Until the weekend the Tories were attacking us over the economy. Now they realise they are in the wrong place and are rowing back." You can't keep the politics out of politics for long.
Of course it's all about politics, how can it not be??
Cameron was doing his best to make political capital today by doing his best to appear statesmanlike and like he was 'above the fray' in offering co-operation when only last week he was against everything this government was doing.
How can you in one sentence laud him for not making political capital and in the next laud his statesmanlike address, it's EXACTLY what he wanted to achieve, he's still positioning himself politically, and even though I can't stand the man and don't support him, I don't think he can do anything else.
Everything he does, and everyone else, is viewed by the public view the prism of 'is he fit to lead?', he knows this, and as such everything he does is with the expectation of it being viewed through that prism.
Ultimately, the whole issue of the credit crunch has to be played out politically, as the way any government would deal with it deals with that political ideology. Cameron can't bring himself to support nationalisation, even though at the moment even the Daily Telegraph are coming out in support of it. As such what happens politically, based on the parties ideologies, affects people in very real ways, which is why making a political issue out of the current crisis is still necessary.
Posted by: Labourboy | Tuesday, 30 September 2008 at 07:04 PM
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Posted by: uhozyje kucint | Tuesday, 17 March 2009 at 08:21 AM