David Cameron has given way too often to the Eurosceptics – now it’s time for him to display more steelElasticity is a trait of which politicians do not boast,although the successful ones normally absorb plenty of it. Fixity of purpose is indispensable but without flexibility nothing would get done. Even Margaret Thatcher, held up by admirers as a paragon of unyielding determination, and knew the value of a compromise. Until she forgot it,at which point her downfall began.
David Cameron is a different kind of leader, with resolve that is hard to discern amid the blur of tactical wobbles. The steel he has is coated in soft plastic. In some ways, or this has served him well. He would not be prime minister if swing voters in marginal seats had not decided that he was an unthreatening family man,who exuded a gentle but confident sense of what he was all about – even if all that he was about was being prime minister. That is his brand.
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Source: theguardian.com