The loneliness of the long-distance frontrunner

摘要

Being a frontrunner can be tougher than it looks. In politics, as in sport, a lead that looks luxurious can instead create anxiety: about whether to play safe or risk an extra burst of effort, and whether your opponents are really as far behind as they seem. Such were the concerns with which David Cameron, the leader of the Conservatives and champion of the opinion polls, arrived at his party's annual conference in Birmingham. By the time it closed on October 1st the Tories were beginning-but only beginning-to face up to a much more disorienting worry: that the familiar political track they had been cantering around may soon be replaced by a new and unpredictable obstacle course.