Earlier today I wrote that U2 had become standard issue for worldwide campaign rallies. Well, the Tories never got the memo, as they resorted to more traditional fare - Edward Elgar - at their big London rally today. That seemed appropriate for the mostly elderly audience, at least 800 strong. It seemed that every young person in attendance was placed in the audience directly behind the podium, probably to provide the telegenic illusion of youth and vigour. Not that Elgar helped in that department.
Black people were also over-represented in the behind-the-podium crowd. One could almost imagine the cameras zooming in on them as the Conservative leader, Michael Howard, in his remarks on immigration, argued: "It's not racist to talk about immigration. It's not racist to criticise the system. It's not racist to want to limit the numbers."
A brief moment of deja vu passed when, earlier during the rally, a Tory candidate for parliament insisted to the audience that "help was on the way". Help was on the way for school teachers, and pensioners, and so on. The phrase was a staple of the ill-fated John Kerry campaign. Not saying that it won't work in Britain. It just simply added to the feeling that history was about to repeat itself, half a world away.
