The right man
The succession of Mr Whitelaw to the chairmanship of the Conservative Party will be welcomed. Lord Carrington has been a poor strategist and his talents did not lie in maintaining and developing contact with the grass roots of the party. Mr Whitelaw will be thought by many Conservatives, who are disturbed about the lack of bite, decision and distinction in the present leadership of the Opposition, to be deficient in some matters intellectual, and too deeply involved in the failures and prevarications of the last government to do the kind of job that is now needed. But there is no outstanding candidate for the job, and Mr Whitelaw has qualities that commend him.
The most important are a willingness to listen, a very real humanity, and an even more remarkable humility. His first speech in his constituency after he had divined the result of the last election emphasised — in sharp and meritorious distinction from some of his colleagues — the superior authority of the people's decision. Those who saw his performance in Northern Ireland — even if they disagreed with his policies — will recognise his great ability to get on with people, an ability sadly lacking among too many members of the Tory hierarchy. And those who have worked with him or seen him at work will value a shrewdness that could serve the Conservative Party as well as Mr Callaghan's shrewdness serves the Labour Party, if not better. It is too often thought that a party chairman should be a tub thumper, after the manner of Lord Hailsham, but in difficult times, when wounds need to be healed, disappointment assuaged, and breaches repaired, it is just Mr Whitelaw's kind of man who should get this kind of job.
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