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12 February 2010

Guardian singing the blues again?

Influential writer instructs "progressives" to "hope" that Cameron the "centrist" succeeds.

By James Macintyre

 

The Guardian has been flirting with David Cameron’s so-called “progressive” Tories for several years.

Now, the influential Guardian writer Julian Glover — who I believe is still the paper’s chief leader writer — has written a fascinating piece from Australia in which he notes the problems that arise when centrist politicians are squeezed by those of a more extreme politics.

In the article, Glover argues:

In Britain, disillusioned Labour supporters are having fun throwing brickbats at Cameron instead of Brown for a change, but they should watch out for the people on the Tory right who are quietly egging them on. Undermine the centrists and only the extremists gain.

He repeatedly states as fact that Cameron is “centrist” and concludes:

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You might not love Cameron, but you should hope that he succeeds . . .

It is not clear whether Glover is referring to Cameron’s supposed “modernisation” of the Tory party, or to the Tory party’s plight at the next election. But what is certain is that the Guardian is now, to put it mildly, a very broad church indeed.

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