The Wardman Wire

It took just a few hours from my post yesterday about the upping of the ante by the Tories to perhaps it threatening to go a little too far.  As I said yesterday, the tone of the Tories is distinctly different at the moment. It is more aggressive and vicious.  All very well and good, but the new strategy does not come without some serious risks. While Cameron is really rather good at vicious attack – he does it with such a sincere smile – other Tories are not so good.

George Osborne’s attack on the government for not releasing a public spending database could well be a mistake. George Osborne demanded that the database be released so that he could show the country what a liar Gordon Brown is. He knew full well that such information is never released and that he could ram home the liar allegations with an added pinch of cover up sprinkled on top. It was a deliberate, below the belt attack aimed solely at playing to and cementing the liar narrative.

Now Mandelson has stepped into the ring.  He and Osborne have history; last time round it was a clear win for the Prince of Darkness and he almost got Osborne the sack.  The shadow Chancellor would do well to tread carefully – you can just sense that Mandelson wants to finish him off and this could develop into his chance.

While Brown has been very creative with his spending plans, going in guns blazing and calling everyone a liar is a dangerous business in politics. Cameron needs to reign in the more gungho attacks or the current line of more aggressive politics could well blow up in Tory faces.

I am not saying the Tories should not expose the government if they are not being truthful – indeed they should.  It is this new far more aggressive and personal method of attack that strikes me as odd.

I do not really understand why the Tories feel that they need to fight dirty. They are not on the ropes, the government is. The rewards of fighting dirty and winning are great, but the risks associated with it are also very high. Why play a high risk strategy when you are winning?