Bagehot The best show in town

摘要

Vacationing in Umbria, soothed by deferential cypresses, uplifted by the glories of the Renaissance, Bagehot promised himself that he would not write about the downlifting Tory leadership contest in the first week back. But the temptation has proved too strong. The struggle between Kenneth Clarke and Iain Duncan Smith has turned so vicious over the summer that the jaw of even the seasoned political observer drops at the spectacle. Friends who have little interest in British politics, and none at all in the Conservatives, confide that they are looking on rapt, with the same horrified fascination with which a vegetarian observes a bullfight. Labour itself appears transfixed. Tony Blair and his ministers have good reasons to stay out of the headlines while their political opponents tear their own reputations to shreds. But the government's silence is not just tactical. For the moment, the war of Conservative succession is, simply, the best show in town-and still has two weeks left to run.