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Clinton throws light on Labour's troubles
Daniel Forman
Labour activists gathered today in the hope of being electrified as they were by Bill Clinton in Blackpool in 2002.
What they got was a lecture from the former US president on how to keep power.
If delegates wanted to be inspired, instead they got sage advice: Unless you convince the public that your achievements are not an "accident", there is no reason why you will win electoral rewards for them.
And unless you continually offer a fresh vision of the future, you will be seen as a thing of the past.
The speech was not outstanding, but was still well received.
While his globe-trotting and activism may not have, Clinton's delivery appears to have slowed down in retirement, but he still held the audience in total silent attention.
One of the problems with the Labour conference is that its highlight comes at the half-way stage with Tuesday's leader's speech.
That can leave the following two days as something of an anti-climax, although it also leaves the assembled media, members and MPs with time to contemplate the main messages and state of the party after the euphoria has died down.
Tony Blair's address certainly deserved the near-unanimous plaudits it received, but the morning after the main event, the feeling was that it will matter for little unless the handover to the next man can be stable and orderly and the government recovers its poise.
For all his oratorical brilliance, a great chasm remains between Blair's reception in the conference hall and his approval ratings among the public.
While the speech shored up his position in the party and may mean he can now remain in office until the summer next year, the realities of power were being thrown into sharp relief with a debate on public service reform in which Labour could oppose government "privatisation" of the NHS.
The presence of Clinton, perhaps the only political performer better than Blair in the modern era, was also a reminder, as he himself acknowledged, that the real test of "progressive" leadership is not to make great speeches but leave a progressive legacy that cannot be undone.
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Published: Wed, 27 Sep 2006 14:37:51 GMT+01
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