LONDON -- The once-mighty Conservative Party, which dominated the British political scene for most of the 20th century, has now fallen on very bad times.
While the political right in America is riding high, with President George W. Bush and the Republican Party victorious on all fronts, in Britain the factionalism and rivalries have scorched their way through the ranks of the Conservatives in a pattern that makes divisions in Japan's Liberal Democratic Party look mild. Some want the party to move rightward, some leftward. Some want a more modern and "politically correct" approach, others insist on upholding traditional values.
All are agreed that the party has lost its way, and criticism inevitably turns on Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan-Smith, an upright and quiet man who is having a miserable time as leader of the opposition.