FT makes noxious attack on Cameron

Yesterday's FT went too far in attacking the Tory leader.  'What did it do?' you ask.

Attack his abandonment of grammar schools?  His support for redistribution?  The tomato environmentalism of his Kyoto policy?  Non.  Much worse...

The FT's John Thornhill compared David Cameron to Jacques Chirac:

(1) "Both profess to be compassionate conservatives, socially liberal pragmatists of no fixed ideological abode. Although they lead rightwing parties, they have both steered to the left, expressing reservations about raw capitalism. Mr Cameron has tried to distance himself from big business, while Mr Chirac rails against the excesses of “Anglo-Saxon ultra-liberalism”. Both men speak more about redistributing wealth than encouraging its creation."

(2) "Mr Cameron has tried to make himself hip by enlisting Bob Geldof, the rock star anti-poverty campaigner, to his cause. Mr Chirac also has an affinity with trendy radicals and has rolled out the red carpet for Hugo Chávez, Venezuela’s maverick president."

(3) "Mr Chirac and Mr Cameron have been uncommonly vocal in championing the developing world and the environment. Both leaders are also staunch defenders of rural interests, which in Britain means championing the right to kill furry animals and in France means cajoling Germans to subsidise your cheese industry through the Common Agricultural Policy."

It's a silly article... easy to refute:

(1) President Chirac is a cheese-eating surrender monkey in the war on terror.  Mr Cameron isn't.

(2) President Chirac is an enthusiast for the euro and EU constitution.  Mr Cameron opposes both.

(3) President Chirac may talk a lot about helping the developing world but his support for CAP is bad news for the world's poorest farmers.  Mr Cameron wants fundamental reform of the EU's agriculture policies.

(4) President Chirac lives in a country that banned British beef.  Mr Cameron lives in a country that doesn't just abide by EU laws; it goldplates them.

(5) President Chirac lives in a country that didn't win the Olympics.  Mr Cameron lives in a nation that did.

Comments

[Peter Franklin]

This would be the enthusiastically europhile FT that has provided such unstinting support to the Labour Party in recent years?

[James Hellyer]

Surely this should read:

"(1) President Chirac is a cheese-eating surrender monkey in the war on terror. Mr Cameron says we're all Liberal Democrats now."

And as I'm feeling cruel:

"(2) Jacques Chirac has been elected to high office, it's unlikely the same will be said for Mr Cameron."

[Jaz]

Sweet...

"(5) President Chirac lives in a country that didn't win the Olympics. Mr Cameron lives in a nation that did."

err
"(2) Jacques Chirac has been elected to high office, it's unlikely the same will be said for Mr Cameron."

The good news is yet to come, David Davis will never get hte opportunity to get elected!

[Ted]

James

Calm down - its too early yet to know what we will be offering to electorate in three years time. It won't be a re-hash of last years manifesto; it may well contain some things that we find objectionable (as was case in 1992 and 1997) but it will be Conservative.

We need to get our support up to 41% plus - that means the offer must attract some voters from the LDs, some from the NuLab, some UKIP and hopefully attract some of those who stopped voting altogether.

We have to win (either a majority or the biggest number of seats) so that re point 5 its not Brown taking the plaudits at either the Diamond Jubilee or Olympics in 2012!

[Ted]

Interesting comment by Edward Leigh, showing he hasn't got it, on BBC Radio 4 -
While supporting DC he said that in three years we might be better placed to explain policies that helped people "escape from failing public services". DC is right in concentrating on developing policies that improve failing services rather than offer an escape IMHO.

[Graeme Archer]

Are we surprised that the FT, which has supported New Labour from the start (Ed Balls' brother once worked with them), should come out with an anti-Cameron line? It's just evidence that Cameron's got them flustered.

Now please LibDems, vote for Simon Hughes. It's my birthday on Monday and I can't think of a better present.

[Wat Tyler]

Graeme- having stopped reading the statist europhile pink'un some time ago, I may be wrong...but I think it was Balls himself who worked for them.

[James Hellyer]

Yet strangely the Cameron fans here seem willing to accrept anything good the FT says about Cameron. Double standards?

[Russ]

Man, this blog was so much better when it was dedicated to covering things that matter. This blog was so much better when it dissected policy positions and maintained a worthy level of debate. Instead of taking apart the column with some patience and respect, you label the post "Funnies" and piss away all maturity. "Cheese eating surrender monkey" ? Could you have trucked out a less tiresome insult? It's a shame this blog is turning into little more than a "cheese eating" attack blog.

And Ed Balls was lead economic writer at FT from 1990-1994.

[James Hellyer]

"This blog was so much better when it dissected policy positions and maintained a worthy level of debate."

If you do that you then get attacked for not uncritically accepting every CCO press release as gospel!

[Graeme Archer]

I used to work for Ed's father (Prof Michael Balls) in Italy - I met Ed's brother and he must have been doing some work experience at the FT so apologies for the confusion over the siblings. (They're very nice people). But the fact remains - on a slow news day, it doesn't surprise me that the FT is dissing Cameron.

More ToryDiary-worthy (maybe someone could write a Platform on it?) is the increasingly bizarre attempts of Brown to paint himself as a NuBrit Patriot. Clearly I'm not alone in finding the idea of a girning son of the manse, representing a Scottish seat, as not that electorally appealing. Listening to his wretched attempts to portray himself as the friend of Middle England this morning would have been comic were it not apparent that he's in deadly earnest.

[R UK]

Evidence if ever it were needed of why Cameron avoids setting out a strong policy platform. The media will misrepresent it.

He will win the election because he's young, good-looking and speaks well.....that's as long as the postal vote fraud system is sorted out by then. Otherwise we're history. That's an issue of Social Justice. Where's IDS on that?

[Daniel Vince-Archer]

"More ToryDiary-worthy (maybe someone could write a Platform on it?) is the increasingly bizarre attempts of Brown to paint himself as a NuBrit Patriot. Clearly I'm not alone in finding the idea of a girning son of the manse, representing a Scottish seat, as not that electorally appealing. Listening to his wretched attempts to portray himself as the friend of Middle England this morning would have been comic were it not apparent that he's in deadly earnest."

I'm not sure it's all that earnest to be honest - take, as an example, the silly Britishness Day gimmick.

Each of the four constituent nations of the United Kingdom already has a national day of sorts in the form of the patron saints' days, which (with the exception of St. Patrick's Day) people are largely indifferent or ignorant to.

If Gordon Brown is really serious about presenting himself as a British patriot, he should take steps to prevent the ongoing surrender of our sovereignty to Brussels and do more to ensure that a sense of national pride is instilled in British citizens from childhood.

[Ted]

careful about attacking Gordo - he pinched the British Day from Dr Fox & he gap year stuff from Dave Cameron

Its getting desperate for NuLab that they are now stealing our policy positions from candidates speeches and policy proposals rather than even waiting for us to even propose them...

Now to provide Gordon with more policies couldn't we start a rumour that we are going to propose massively increased green taxes, double car tax on second cars, ban all Chelsea Tractors... (oh sorry I think Huhne is proposing that for the LDs)

[Editor]

I've now posted something specific on GB's GB speech.

[Selsdon Man]

"President Chirac is a cheese-eating surrender monkey"

"President Chirac lives in a country that didn't win the Olympics. Mr Cameron lives in a nation that did."

PATHETIC AND CHILDISH NAME CALLING UNWORTHY OF THIS BLOG.

[Richard]

I would have thought another difference is that Chirac avoids being prosecuted for various criminal acts simply because he is President. As far as we know, Cameron has a much cleaner sheet (bar some possible drug taking when younger).

[Irish Observer]

I agree with Selsdon man that the cheese-eating surender monkey quip (in the main article might I add, not just in the comments) is outrageous. I appreciate that Anglo-French antipathy is felt both ways but I'm sure the any cheese-eating French blogger could come come up with more intellectual insults.

As to the War on Terror itself, please don't conflate terrorism with the nonsensical War on Iraq. France has always had a far better internal security apparatus than the UK or US. President Chirac, like Kenneth Clarke, saw a disaster in the making and steered clear. I don't think Cameron will win many votes with a "more pro-Iraq War than thou" manifesto.