Peter Hitchens, a sometimes interesting British journalist (who is perhaps best known as the right-wing brother of left-wing war hawk Christopher) has a worthwhile piece in the latest edition of Britain's Spectator magazine (free subscription required) about the future of the UK Conservatives, who are currently in a leadership race.
This isn't the first article to be penned on this subject (the Speccie devoted a whole issue to the topic a few months ago) nor will it be the last. But Hitchens' piece this time is particularly interesting for we Canucks because he idenfies as problems many of the issues facing the Conservative Party here. Indeed, this early paragraph could just as well have been written about the Conservative Party of Canada except for the Europe question:
The Tories' position is hopeless. No man living could conceivably unify the party's contradictory wings. Europhile or Eurosceptic, pro-or anti-marriage, market enthusiast or moralist — each of these quarrels is fundamental and cannot be settled by compromise. To refuse to resolve them is to ask to be dragged, by events beyond our control, into places we never decided to go.
Hitchens' essential thesis is this: the British Tories have too broad a coalition with too many fighting factions to ever win. The only way to success is for traditionalist Tories to break off, form a new party and build a coalition amongst old-style Labour supporters, social conservatives and others who oppose "progressivism":
It is surely possible to find a majority out there for a new party, neither bigoted nor politically correct, patriotic and intelligent, committed to national independence and liberty and to the re-establishment of justice. I believe those conservatives willing to think, and to seek allies, could swiftly develop a programme and a coalition far more honourable and realistic than the present Tory impasse.
I don't pretend to have the answer for the British Tories, but I'm pretty sure this isn't it. Before he advocates the creation of a new political party, Hitchens ought to read about the failure of the conservative movement here over the past 10 years. Then he'd realize the futility of that excercise.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 2:14 PM
