Les habits neufs de David Cameron

Can the conservative party win an election after thirteen years of a labor government? Far from embracing this precedent, the Tories have done their best to squelch their Thatcherian heritage in order to return to the dawn of a paternalistic conservatism of which the leader, David Cameron, presents himself a worthy heir.

But the challenge is sizable: the party's internal conflicts weigh heavily on its political ambitions. Elected in 2005 as head of the party, Cameron appointed himself the unexpected therapist for a "broken society." This new discourse depends on the praise of the small business and the rediscovery of community ties following the reign of individualism. Its defense of the environment and its outreach to women and ethnic minorities didn't fail to surprise, either.

But the traditional foundation, nourished by a rampant Euro-skepticism and persistent moral rhetoric of order and authority blurs the message of Cameron, who's more of a patrician than his dynamic image might suggest, putting back into question the "modernization" on which he bases his victory.

Specialist in British political life, doctor of political science and master of English, Agnès Alexandre-Collier is a professor at the Université de Bourgogne.