A good speech but not a decisive one

The continuing inability of any politician to seize the moment produced by this financial crisis continues. David Cameron’s speech today was fine—well crafted and delivered with just the right amount of passion—but an opportunity to demonstrate his command of the economic question was missed.

It was always going to be impossible for Cameron to top the drama of last year’s effort and he was sensible not to try. The section on his personal values was strong and a reminder of how good he is going to be on the campaign trail during the general election. His remarks on the NHS conveyed the right amount of anger and passion. While his rebuttal of the experience argument—“The risk is sticking with what you’ve got and expecting a different result”—was effective. (For those keeping track of who is borrowing from which American politician, this is an Obama line).

Overall, I’d say the speech was seven out of ten—I thought Brown’s was a four.