Would the real Slim Davey please stand up?
David Cameron is a man currently under fire from all angles. Ed Miliband is finally stepping up to play the role of plausible alternative Premier, with assured performances in the Commons, popular ideas to increase banking competition with the creation of two new banks, and the proposal for a wide-ranging Leveson style public enquiry into banking scandals which the government has resisted. Meanwhile, the government’s own officials are calling the March Budget an “omnishambles” after a succession of U-turns, culminating in the fuel duty turnaround and Chloe Smith’s hapless performance on Newsnight, when she was well and truly “Paxmanned”. Cameron’s own MPs have started to turn on him, staging the biggest rebellion since World War II as 91 Conservatives voted against a bill for House of Lords reform; the prime minister even exchanging angry words over the situation with Jesse Norman in the hallowed Commons division lobby.
As if that were not enough, Norman Tebbit has written a scathing Telegraph column attacking Cameron on the grounds that he is not a true Conservative, while the ever-popular Boris Johnson lurks in the background as an apparently willing and able alternative (just witness the latest cover of Private Eye). It is hard to determine exactly what kind of leader Cameron is: he has defended the U-Turns by claiming that his government is listening to the people, but that clearly invokes the suggestion that he does not know what the people want, or else he wouldn’t lead them there in the first place. The one subject where there is no Plan B – and on which Cameron has not veered off course – is the economy, but that is arguably the one issue where a turnaround would be hugely preferable, given the country’s continued dismal performance. Defenders suggest that Cameron is playing a fine game of stringing the Liberal Democrats along on Lords reform, in order to achieve his aim of redrawing constituency boundaries for the benefit of the Tories, but if this is the case, he has made a poor job of informing his party, to the detriment of his authority.
Moreover, most of his wounds have been self-inflicted: the budget, the economy, the handling of the banks and a general air of arrogance are infuriating his party and alienating the public. With Miliband and Johnson lurking, Cameron has to show firm and – more importantly – smart leadership. Soon.
Bunga parliament?
Perhaps Cameron should take lessons from a man who has never let criticism affect him – in fact, seems to guzzle it as propellant – as reports emerge that Italian lothorio Silvio Berlusconi is set to make a sensational return to politics. The billionaire businessman, who has been involved with sex scandals (via his notorious “Bunga Bunga” parties), corruption trials, his wife leaving him, diplomatic gaffes (including being reprimanded by the Queen at a photocall) and broken political promises to the Italian people, is apparently planning to contest the next election, expected in Spring 2013. A victory would bring him to power for the fourth time. In fact, while Berlusconi is currently on trial – yet again – on charges of abuse of office and paying for sex with an allegedly underage erotic dancer, he remains confident that the electorate would support what would be a truly incredible comeback.
Italy is currently ruled by the technocratic government of economist Mario Monti, which has imposed austerity measures in an attempt to tackle economic problems induced by the failings of the Euro. Berlusconi has mentioned a possible withdrawal from the currency and an end to austerity, which would certainly be a popular move, and studies have seemingly suggested that support for his PDL party would increase from 10% to 30% with him as leader: enough for him to take power via a coalition. If that doesn’t give hope to Cameron that all is not lost, then nothing will.
Star trekkin’
From one man able to shrug off adversity to reach ever-greater heights to another. Branding behemoth Sir Richard Branson has announced that he and his children Sam and Holly will join Hollywood luminaries as the first passengers to board his Virgin Galactic space tourism enterprise – pencilled in for launch at the end of 2013. The SpaceShipTwo (SS2) aircraft will take people 60 miles up into space, where they will be able to experience a spell of weightlessness, before gliding back down to a custom-built spaceport.
Virgin Galactic has announced that 529 people have signed up for the two-hour flight – at a cost of £128,000 per person – and Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Ashton Kutcher are rumoured to be embarking on the voyage. Branson’s presence on the trip proves once again that he is never afraid to put his money – or mortality – where his mouth is. He will be hoping that Virgin Galactic follows the course of his airline and record companies, rather than his cola venture: his very life depends upon it.