Election Sketch: Call me bloody lively, says Dave
DAVID Cameron was in the City yesterday morning, and he bounded on to a stage to announce that he was “pumped up”. He was speaking to an audience of small business owners, trying to convince them that he is on their side – as well as trying to convince the broader electorate that he is passionate about what his party has to offer.
“If I’m getting lively about this, it’s because I feel bloody lively,” he bellowed. Frankly, it was all a bit much for first thing on a Monday morning.
The question was raised as to what our pumped up PM had eaten for breakfast. Porridge, it turned out, not three shredded wheat. (They’ve got him into trouble before when speaking about how many terms he might serve as PM. Not three, anyway).
The Tory leader has been under pressure in recent days for not showing enough fire on the campaign trail, as the polls fail to detail a long-awaited breakthrough for his party.
He took questions on his new found fire, but not on his new found football team. Disappointing, as I was very keen to know what he made of West Villa’s chances in the FA Cup final.
Critics will argue that yesterday’s outpouring of passion is a case of too little, too late. Cameron’s supporters argue that his warning over the possibility of a cosy post-election Labour-SNP deal is cutting through on the doorsteps. No one wants to cuddle up with Alex Salmond – not south of the border, at least.
It also ignores how much people value Cameron’s calmness, leadership, and the Prime Ministerial X-Factor that polls almost always show is associated with him. People want to see a bit of passion, and getting “bloody lively” once in a while is no bad thing. We want to see that the PM believes in something.