Are the Tories about to mess it up?

If you welcomed a foreigner onto these shores and talked them through the social, political and economic state of the country, what would you tell them? Perhaps you'd say that the new prime minister is an awful communicator and national debt is at record levels. (Have a look at this site and you can see the debt rising by the second - scary isn't it!) You could also mention that unemployment stands at 2.6 million. And nobody knows how Britain is going to get out of this mess. Then tell him that there's a general election in 3 months and ask him to predict the result. "Opposition landslide" he’d surely say. The problem for the Tories, of course, is that even in the most favourable conditions for an opposition election win since 1979 (arguably 97), they seem to be showing all the political nous and leadership of a drunken sheep(sheep follow and drunken sheep go round in circles!)  It remains likely that they will be unable to snatch the defeat from such a strong position, but bearing in mind the swing they require to sweep to power, outright victory is no foregone conclusion. So what should the Tories be doing? Well here’s what I’d do. Do's: 1. Be brave. Show some leadership. Frankly, Britain’s in a mess. Economically and socially. And the country knows it. We need someone to follow. Someone to believe in. 2. Attack Gordon. All day. Everyday. Without sympathy. Voters might feel sorry for Gordon, but if you’re in the mire (and we are) you don’t vote for a leader you feel sorry for. 3. How to attack Gordon. He’s sat at the decision making table for the last 13 years. He is responsible for the economic and social mess we find ourselves in. Brand him an instrument of failure. 4. Put on YouTube and every ad spot you can afford the recording of Gordon saying “the days of boom and bust are over.” See here. (And do watch this, it's very well done.) Don’t: 1. Fall into Mandelson’s trap of coming up with policies. He wants you to do this so that Labour can fight on their terms. The Tories don’t need to do this. Indeed, in the current financial crisis, the next government will have very few choices to make; they won’t have any money! 2. Be cautious. Historically (in recent times anyway) governments tend to win by the biggest majority when they first come to power. If the Tories want a sizable public endorsement and the long stint at number 10, they need to use this unique set of favourable political circumstances to win a landslide. They should accept nothing less.