In an article on the American primaries in last week's Spectator, James Forsyth drew the following lesson for David Cameron:
"[He] should be worried by this yearning for authenticity. While his political evolution has not been anywhere near as dramatic as his critics make out, it is still hard for him to point to any time that he has risked his political career for a cause."
As grateful as we should be for James's excellent coverage of the primary season, he is being unfair – and all but admits it himself in the next sentence:
"(In part, this is because Cameron has repeatedly found himself to be pushing at open doors; few Tory strategists would have dared hope that his positions on marriage and welfare reform would turn out to be so popular both with voters and the press.)"
Cameron did indeed take a big risk in his defence of marriage. The fact that this met with a better than expected response is great but it does not diminish the courage of his initial stance. It would be a shame if political authenticity were to depend entirely on the championing of genuinely hopeless causes.
David Cameron may be pushing at open doors, but that's surely better than banging his head against a brick wall.
Recent Comments