George Osborne, Poker Player

May God protect me from my friends. That, I suggest, should be George Osborne’s reaction to Ben Brogan’s Telegraph column this morning. As best I can tell, it’s supposed to be a supportive piece, reflecting on the Chancellor’s efforts to rediscover his mojo in the aftermath of his justifiably poorly-received budget. If so, then, with friends like these…

Consider Brogan’s opening salvo:

Optimism comes easily to George Osborne. In the face of adversity he chooses to smile with the confidence of a politician who relishes a challenge. There is something of the high-stakes poker player about the Chancellor, a keen student of the Lyndon Johnson Texas school of hard-nosed politics. He prefers long odds and a winner-takes-all throw of the dice.

If this is true then Mr Osborne will be welcome at every poker game in the land. Only a sucker prefers long odds. As a general rule, you should only play when you have good reason to think you have the upper hand and the odds are in your favour.