Times: Cameron case ‘is not yet persuasive’
A Times newspaper editorial says today:
More and more leading figures, both in Westminster and the City, are expecting either a hung Parliament or a minority administration. Clearly David Cameron is not making a convincing case. The central charge against him is that, while he is approachable and likeable, his aims and values as a future prime minister of this country are still unclear. David Cameron has yet to answer a basic question: what does he stand for?
…
Despite this serial good fortune, Mr Cameron’s case is not yet persuasive. His speeches are replete with favourable references to charities but precious little about the practical business issue of job creation. He has been fond lately of set-piece speeches of dubious intellectual and strategic wisdom on the iniquity of the big state and health and safety legislation. He would be better advised to get out into the country to visit as many people and places as possible, splitting his time between persuading and listening.
…
Mr Cameron is, instead, projecting the aura of a man who wants power rather more than he knows what to do with it. He is also sounding, as he did at his party’s conference in October, like a man who is spending more time preparing for government than he is asking to be elected. This is a dangerous attitude to strike. It may be possible for Mr Cameron to drift to victory on the tide of government unpopularity but this will not provide him with a mandate for power. “Anyone but Gordon” is not a slogan on which to rely.
Ouch!
Sunder Katwala at Next Left thinks the ambiguity over Cameron’s thinking is unlikely to change. While the grassroots clamour to get heard even more, the Times editorial makes clear that he needs to think outside the party’s narrow base in order to convince more people.
The so far limited tightening of the polls will see calls for Cameron to return to the modernising outreach agenda, and calls for him to connect better to his core support. One can not easily fulfil both of these demands.
…
So I would be surprised if there was more clarity and less ambiguity about what David Cameron stands for in the next six months – though the government might best, through its own policy agenda, present tests which may sometimes require a choice to be made.
---------------------------
| Tweet |
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
Reader comments
“A Times newspaper editorial”
Amazing how distinctive Oliver Kamm’s writing style is, isn’t it?
Reactions: Twitter, blogs
- Political Scrapbook
RT @libcon: :: Times: Cameron case 'is not yet persuasive' http://bit.ly/5k1rMg
- sunny hundal
And they've realised this only now? RT @libcon Times: David Cameron's case 'is not yet persuasive' http://bit.ly/5k1rMg
- Liberal Conspiracy
:: Times: Cameron case 'is not yet persuasive' http://bit.ly/5k1rMg
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
You can read articles through the front page, via Twitter or RSS feed. You can also get them by email and through our Facebook group.
» Do older people really need more NHS healthcare?
» There are alternatives to the reckless ‘Plan A’
» On Beecroft: it is already quite easy to sack people
» Why Cameron’s claim of 600,000 jobs created is plainly wrong
» By using age to allocate NHS funding, Lansley rewards Tory voters
» The rise in domestic violence deaths is not an “isolated” problem
» Adrian Beecroft highlights mindset of Tory right
» The US is now a model for the Eurozone to save itself
» The IMF plan to revive the economy doesn’t go far enough
» The Boris brand is weaker than his friends think
» Nine things you can do to halt Lansley’s destruction of our NHS
|
18 Comments 69 Comments 21 Comments 45 Comments 10 Comments 24 Comments 22 Comments 69 Comments 44 Comments 25 Comments |
LATEST COMMENTS » re posted on '43% of young women sexually harassed' » Peter Stewert posted on '43% of young women sexually harassed' » s cullen posted on How Newsnight demonised a single mother » cim posted on On Beecroft: it is already quite easy to sack people » steveb posted on Do older people really need more NHS healthcare? » re posted on '43% of young women sexually harassed' » Ben2 posted on '43% of young women sexually harassed' » steveb posted on UKIP higher than Libdems over May » Just Visiting posted on On Beecroft: it is already quite easy to sack people » Just Visiting posted on On Beecroft: it is already quite easy to sack people » Andreas Moser posted on '43% of young women sexually harassed' » Just Visiting posted on On Beecroft: it is already quite easy to sack people » Trooper Thompson posted on UKIP higher than Libdems over May » Northern Worker posted on There are alternatives to the reckless 'Plan A' » edward mark reid posted on How Newsnight demonised a single mother |










