A fairly recent innovation the lomg suffering British public could do with out is New Year message from our political party leaders,- well, heads. They would all probably increase their ratings by saying absolutely nothing during what is meant to be the festive season.
None of them is in the least bit festive,- ever.
Dave seriously says we are on the right track but it is a long and tedious one with lots of grey along it.
Ed the preacher says something in class war tones about fairness. Nothing about how he, the Ballses and the Brown team brought the country to its economic knees through reckless overspending and artifical creation of non productive artificial jobs in the public sector while throwing out welfare bungs in all directions. They would dearly love to have another go at the same recipe. After all, "the rich" can pay for it.
Nick, the perpertually ashen faced, also goes on about the unobtainable nirvana of total fairness while urging his party to keep the coalition government in the centre and free of evil Tory plans to be beastly. Joining the easy-to-do class war and adding to the impression that he is still in short trousers, the ex-Westminster public schoolboy he says his coalition partners can't be trusted to look after people other than the super-rich. Overall the LibDems' aim in life appears to be to ensure the government's ability to do anything much is neutralised and neutered. They don't like new runways, railways, roads, power stations and most other things that make people and the world go round either. Marks for exciting forward thinking ? Zero. Great partners to have.
Little wonder that most of the nation reach for the "Off" or at least "Mute" button every time these three gents appear on the screen. All three totally lack inspiration, vision or have anything exciting to say. Ed occasionaly manages a smirk. Otherwise all three find humour, pleasure, joy and those sorts of things impossible to express. Would most people enjoy going in holiday, having a kitchen supper, a drink in a pub or even a latte in Starbucks with them? Unlikely.
The 2015 election may well end up in another coalition with Labour the largest party and the LibDems snuggled up to them in what most of their MPs and members would consider a much more natural and comfortable alliance. The LibDems would most likely find that Labour treated them with greater courtesy and "respect" but were actually far more ruthless in cutting them to shreds behind the scenes. The Conservatives are pussycats compared to Labour in many of the political dark arts and are much more organised in the execution of them.
Unless they win an outright overall majority the Tory Party will want a change of leader after the election. It is possible , though less likely, that they will go for one before as many now recognise that Cameron's image is now too firmly set as the remote toff surrounded by small clique of similar going back to his school and university days. The fact that he has allowed this positioning to develop indicates that his political and social antennae are poor or that he doesn't understand what he is seeing. Neither gives confidence in his political longevity or ability to emotionally connect with the electorate.
There is also the question of Cameron's philosophy and vision for Britain around which he has to invite the nation to rally. He simply doesn't seem to have one. He is at best a manager,-and not a very exciting one,- not a leader. There is no sign of energy and commitment to even a dream of a ew and better future for Britain and without one what has he and his party to offer? All that the Party does is presented piecemeal and not as a coherent whole although in fact it has many good and consistent strands running through it. Is Cameron and therefore a Cameron led party electable in 2015?
Conservatives have therefore probably spent the last few very grey days of a pretty grey 2012 looking gloomily into 2013 hoping to see something better through the murk. They will also be trying to dismiss the feeling that the party might arrive at the end of 2015 having done the hard yards in getting some sort of order back into the economy and dealt with a wide range of issues whose ill effects have built over decades and especially since the Brownite abandonment of Prudence in 2000 only for Labour to take over again , say "thanks for doing the nasty and difficult stuff,- we'd have had to do that too " and reap the benefits through a new term of office. The Tories might even reflect that 2010 was an election which would have been better lost.
In searching for a beacon of light and a clue as to how 2015 might be won, Tory strategists must be looking at the 2012 London Mayoral elections. Here, against a pro-Labour flow a Tory arch-toff Boris Johnson, defeated the long standing London darling of the London left , chattering classes, establishment socialites as well as normal people, Ken Livingstone . That proved that the Conservatives' problem isn't about Etonians, toffness and those staple hates of the left. It's about charisma and the ability to communicate with and relate to absolutely anybody,- even when stuck on a zip wire. The Tory problem would be even worse if either of the other two leaders has an ounce of presence or ability to inspire. Fortunately neither do which is why few bother to listen to them either.
Boris Johnson, by far the cleverest and most erudite of the four, is never going to be an old style classic Prime Minister. Neither is he going to be in the weapy eyed moralising articificial "Tone" Blair sort. Nor will he modify his accent to fit what he thinks to be the audience and he won't dive into Greggs to buy a pasty for the photo opportunity. He will create enough of those of his own.
One drawback is that Boris tends to be waylaid by single issues and get into some difficult cul-de-sacs. However , if supported by a first rate group of people to actually do the business and make things happen he could be exactly what the British nation needs to rally and energise people and the economy. His "Do something" approach is miles apart from Cameron's kicking of the tough balls into the far distance beyond 2015. He radates energy, is able to deliver tough messages in an acceptable though often blunt way. He is not boring and he is a very able politician. He should not therefore be dismissed as any kind of joke or joker. With the right team he could save the Tory party from even more shades of grey and even a disaster in 2015 and beyond. For starters he wasn't booed at the London Olympics. For seconds he'd radiate energy and fun (while demanding performance from his everyone) anywhere. That's a pretty good launch pad.
