The Hindu : International : Tories elect new leader

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 07, 2005

International

International

Tories elect new leader

Hasan Suroor

LONDON: After three successive general election defeats, Britain's Conservative Party on Monday put its future in the hands of one of its youngest MPs when it elected David Cameron (39), shadow education secretary, as its new leader to replace Michael Howard who quit saying that he had become too old to lead the party.

Mr. Cameron, described as the "most blue-blooded'' Tory because of his aristocratic background, defeated his senior colleague and shadow home secretary David Davis marking a generational shift in the party.

This is the third time in four years that the Conservatives have been forced to choose a new leader in a desperate bid to improve their electoral prospects.

A charismatic figure but with little experience, Mr. Cameron has been compared to Tony Blair, when he took over the leadership of a demoralised Labour Party and turned it into a winning election machine. Indeed, he himself famously said recently that that he was an "heir'' to Mr. Blair — a remark which upset his traditional party colleagues.

An MP only for four years and with untested leadership skills, Mr. Cameron has his task cut out as he takes over the reins of a down-at-heel and deeply divisive party.

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