The Image Cameron Would Like To Project

Vanity Fair may not be the sort of magazine in which elections are won or lost, but it contains a profile of David Cameron this month which seems far more assured than current reality might have us think. Interestingly, Conservative Central Office appear to have been in a bit of a tiz about it because of a quote from Ed Vaizey, the shadow culture minister. Vaizey has been a bit too loquacious of late, suggesting that Samantha Cameron once voted Labour, and - in the Vanity Fair piece - that David Cameron may be hiding the real extent of his natural conservatism.

CCO should calm down. Vaizey is not exactly big news for any voter, while the profile, by Michael Wolff, is a pretty good one. You'd never think the last few weeks had occurred actually, and given the timescale for articles in Vanity Fair they probably hadn't when this was written. In consequence, the Wolff profile portrays a smooth, assured, albeit posh and upper class, political leader about to sweep all before him. There is a degree of admiration in the tone. If I were in Central Office now, I'd be reading this and wondering where it all went wrong! They might still pull it back, but it'll take a heck of a lot more blood and guts than has been invested so far. Meanwhile, they could always keep the Wolff profile on the wall, as a reminder of how successful the Cameron brand once was.