The Spectacular Rise Of David Cameron
By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in Foreign Affairs — Comments (4) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
The Conservatives in Britain have a new leader. And his rhetoric sounds familiar:
David Cameron has been elected as the new Conservative leader by a margin of more than two to one over David Davis.
The 39-year-old beat rival Mr Davis by 134,446 votes to 64,398 in a postal ballot of Tory members across the UK.
The Old Etonian, an MP for only four years, said: "I want us to give our country a modern compassionate Conservatism."
I suspect that Cameron--with his telegenic nature and 21st century communications skills will be an impressive and formidable political opponent for Tony Blair at Question Time and for Gordon Brown in the next general election. The speculation in Britain is that Blair will not last much longer as Prime Minister and that Brown will soon take over.
My understanding is that Cameron is surrounded by pro-America advisors--a sharp contrast to many of the anti-American Tories that advised the anti-American Tory Michael Howard. This is especially important, given that the imminent departure of Blair and the rise of Brown could very well mean that more anti-American elements of the Labour Party will be in the ascendant, at least for the short term.
A profile of Cameron can be found here.
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The Spectacular Rise Of David Cameron 4 Comments (0 topical, 4 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
I'd object to the characterization of Michael Howard as "anti-American". Howard lived and studied in America and was a fairly strong Atlanticist.
I'm also not exactly sure that British Conservatives have found a saving grace in David Cameron. He looks and sounds good, but his "compassionate conservatism" isn't likely to be the second coming of Thatcherism.
I've always disliked the phrase 'compassionate conservatism'. This implies conservatism is not normally compassionate; otherwise why the qualifier? In some ways this may be true, although the same can be said for modern liberalism. In my mind conservatism is realistic and realistically one can not always to what you want to do. Realism acknowledges the contributions of centuries of generations that came before us and doesn't casually toss them aside in favor of the latest fad in social engineering. Realism acknowledges that there will always be unanticipated consequences to any actions or policies and therefore prudence in all things is the order of the day. I think the question then is how conservatism got this apparent reputation for being 'uncompassionate'.
This guy has star power. I watched him on PM's Question Time and he makes Tony Blair look old and tired.
Whether Conservative-style star power is enough to win UK elections, who knows?
There is a streak of anti-Americanism in the Tory party. It is not a dominant view, but it is there and has existed for a long time. Margaret Thatcher remarked on it in her memoirs, and noted the role of the Suez affair (1956) in alienating some Tories of her generation. The Europhiles are a more recent source.
We complain about the level of bias in our media. I wonder if it's still possible for a conservative to be elected Prime Minister in Britain, given the level of bias that they have. I couldn't believe how much hate the elites had for Blair in the last election. Truly disgusting. I can only wonder what a formidible conservative candidate would have to endure during a close election.
Given the state of mind in Europe (socialism/liberalism), I can understand the Conservative Party's "compassionate" rhetoric right now. It's going to be a while before they can see a real paradigm shift in the hearts and minds of Britons. I say, get elected, and then slowly begin to champion your beliefs and ideas.
Best of luck to David Cameron. He'll need it.