Tony flattery
Imitation - the old saying goes - is the sincerest form of flattery. And there is no doubt that Team Cameron, however much they deny it, are imitating Tony Blair's electoral strategy.
So, a charismatic young opposition leader, long on confidence if short on experience and policies, pledges to change his party and prove he's up to changing Britain.
Thus Mr Cameron today tried to re-write the rules of Question Time by pledging to back the prime minister against the opposition of many on his own side. Thus he travels to a deprived area of East London to talk to a multi-racial audience about social justice.
Thus he will take on his own party over the selection of more women candidates. He does it all with a following wind from those parts of the media who sense - and even hope - that the Blair era is coming to an end.
But hold on a minute. It was Mr Blair with Mr Brown who wrote the handbook for this strategy and they think they know how to defeat it. This time they will take on the ball and not the man, believing that it's policy which will be Mr Cameron's undoing - whether backing selection in schools, tax cuts or confrontation in Europe. It'll be a fascinating contest.
If you don't believe me you may wish to consider a quote from a younger George Osborne interviewed for a documentary about the Hague years I made some time ago for ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Two: "We want a new leader, a new generation to do in effect for our party what Tony Blair did for the Labour Party."
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