The Government of Gordon Brown and his Labour Party is frazzled and care-worn as the Prime Minister, at the end of his mandate, finally calls an election for May. But if you are expecting inspiration from the nominally Conservative opposition of David Cameron, you will be relegated instead to retread Obamaisms, such as "Hope, Optimism and Change", as if the original "Hope and Change" didn't connote false optimism enough. Then there is the Tory leader's wobbly spin on JFK, "It's no good asking what can government do for me but what can we all do together to make our society stronger."
What next from the sloganeers? "A Chicken in Every Wok"?
Labour is bureaucratic, sclerotic and divided. But Cameron's Conservatives seem to offer mere marginal improvements to an economy that is grotesquely over-regulated and nearly strangled with taxes. In recent weeks Mr. Cameron has lost a big lead in polls, thanks perhaps to his failure to offer any relief, or even sympathy, to taxpayers. Neither party seems much interested, either, in defending Britain from the greedy reach of Brussels' EU pests. The election choice therefore will be fought out on familiar, flatter ground: the Ins versus the Outs.
Conservative leader David Cameron
The London Times story on the campaign's opening focuses on the supposed symbolism of the two lead candidates' forms of travel--trains versus private planes. Brown, whose parliamentarians were caught last year gorging themselves on pork and perks, portrays himself in the campaign as the common man and Cameron as a toff. If that is what the campaign is about, prepare for one of the most inconsequential elections in British history.
The Tories have more money; they probably (yawn) will win.
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