http://blog.gmfus.org/2007/06/18/who-wants-to-be-the-heir-to-blair/ Strengthening Transatlantic Cooperation Tue, 6 Jan 2009 23:43:03 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 http://blog.gmfus.org/2007/06/18/who-wants-to-be-the-heir-to-blair/#comment-8610 German Marshall Fund Blog » Blog Archive » Mis-underestimated? Thu, 27 Sep 2007 20:30:43 +0000 http://blog.gmfus.org/2007/06/18/who-wants-to-be-the-heir-to-blair/#comment-8610 [...] Have Conservative strategists ‘mis-underestimated’ Brown’s appeal to voters? Perhaps - and far from simply challenging them in the political center-ground, his approach may also hit the Conservatives where it hurts most. I noted in an earlier post that while Cameron was attempting to re-brand his party along modern and inclusive lines, vocal critics argued that he was abandoning some of their most deeply held principles. Brown’s approach potentially deepens Cameron’s dilemma by saying what some social conservatives in his party want to hear, but which Cameron himself may be fearful of saying because it conflicts with that modernising agenda. As one conservative commentator put it, Brown is: “reaching out to the conservatives of middle Britain who have been so completely abandoned by the [Conservative Party].” [...] [...] Have Conservative strategists ‘mis-underestimated’ Brown’s appeal to voters? Perhaps - and far from simply challenging them in the political center-ground, his approach may also hit the Conservatives where it hurts most. I noted in an earlier post that while Cameron was attempting to re-brand his party along modern and inclusive lines, vocal critics argued that he was abandoning some of their most deeply held principles. Brown’s approach potentially deepens Cameron’s dilemma by saying what some social conservatives in his party want to hear, but which Cameron himself may be fearful of saying because it conflicts with that modernising agenda. As one conservative commentator put it, Brown is: “reaching out to the conservatives of middle Britain who have been so completely abandoned by the [Conservative Party].” [...]

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