Which Tory leadership candidate and future Prime Minister possesses most of these Roman virtues?

Auctoritas — "Spiritual Authority" — The sense of one's social standing, built up through experience, Pietas, and Industria.

Comitas — "Humour" — Ease of manner, courtesy, openness, and friendliness.

Constantia — "Perseverance" — Military stamina, mental and physical endurance.

Clementia — "Mercy" — Mildness and gentleness.

Dignitas — "Dignity" — A sense of self-worth, personal pride.

Disciplina — "Discipline" — Military oath under Roman protective law & citizenship.

Firmitas — "Tenacity" — Strength of mind, the ability to stick to one's purpose.

Frugalitas — "Frugality" — Economy and simplicity of style, without being miserly.

Gravitas — "Gravity" — A sense of the importance of the matter at hand, responsibility and earnestness.

Honestas — "Respectability" — The image that one presents as a respectable member of society.

Humanitas — "Humanity" — Refinement, civilization, learning, and being cultured.

Industria — "Industriousness" — Hard work.

Iustitia — "Justice" — Sense of moral worth to an action.

Pietas — "Dutifulness" — More than religious piety; a respect for the natural order socially,
politically, and religiously. Includes the ideas of patriotism and devotion to others.

Prudentia — "Prudence" — Foresight, wisdom, and personal discretion.

Salubritas — "Wholesomeness" — Health and cleanliness.

Severitas — "Sternness" — Gravity, self-control.

Veritas — "Truthfulness" — Honesty in dealing with others.

Virtus - "Manliness" - Valor, excellence, courage, character, and worth. Vir meaning "man".

It's unlikely to be Leadsom.

It can't be Crabb.

It f [ill in the blank] be Fox.

It mustn't be May.

It's got to be Gove.

Fox: 'We're not going to leave' Afghanistan in 2015

Defence Secretary Liam Fox says large numbers of UK forces "may or may not stay in Afghanistan" after the end of "official" combat operations.  

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9208000/9208388.stm

Liam Foxes message is what is called "mixed signals" showing infirmity of purpose, self-doubt while hinting at ultimate defeat and national humiliation, which he wishes to deny until it is in fact practically impossible to do so.

If I were the Taliban I would be insisting on unconditional withdrawal while staring fixedly at the British invader.

It is only a matter of time before the British look down, burst into tears, and run away with their tails between their legs.

They can't take any more of dying for Israel, Bush, Blair, Brown and Cameron in a cause that is clearly against their national interest, can they surely?

They are not that strong anyway but are they really that stupid to keep taking the casualties for such a dubious cause as Neo-Connery?

Neo-Conservatism is nothing more than the US going around behaving like a bull in a china shop, with the British poodling along while the rest of the world vows terrible vengeance.

If only the British would realise that such blind adherence to an ignoble tradition of canine servility is not in their best interests, particularly when the Americans will soon run out of credit and goodwill.

In the meantime the war radicalises its significant Muslim population who are doubtless plotting more 7/7s, driving the police into a frenzy of over-surveillance, racial antagonism and the passing of liberty-killing laws that will affect non-Muslims too.

The trouble too is that the non-Muslims who hate the war hate Muslims more than they hate the war.

They are also very sentimental and treat Remembrance Sunday like a sacred national ritual when it is in fact nothing more than a dreary annual act of remembering death and defeat, while refusing to deal with present realities. It would appear that the British are keener to remember their dead soldiers than strive to prevent further pointless sacrifices of life and limb in their currently live soldiers.

Such is the sentimentality, mawkishness and irrationality of the typical Briton that there is no reasoning with him.

We should not underestimate the stupidity of the people or indeed of our government. Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain.

Fox: UK 'will not give up' mentoring Afghan army

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8818000/8818527.stm

The best thing to happen is for the people who started it to be punished.

I am afraid this means us.

Then there would be a satisfying moral to the story:

The moral of this particular story would be:

1. Do not start wars lightly, unadvisedly or wantonly.

2. Certainly do not start wars like that that you cannot win.

3. An unexamined foreign policy is a foreign policy not worth implementing (Is it in the long-term national interest or just knee-jerk American Poodle-ism? Is it just so Blair and talk about "fighting shoulder to shoulder" with the world's most powerful but most unpopular nation? Is any of this worth the life of a single British grenadier? Is Israel?"

4. Do not go so mad with nannying dementia that you think you will get away with saying that you are only invading other countries so you can nanny them into being better more PC-liberal nations, ie doing things your way.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8818000/8818527.stm

This would be laughable if it were not so tragic. Why don't we ask these Afghans if they want to be "mentored" by a civilisation in the terminal stages of dementia?

Why would they want be "mentored" by a country governed by fools and knaves who invade other countries telling them that it is for their own good?

Not content with having a nanny state we invade other countries to nanny them? Incredible, but true.

What are British soldiers dying for now? Zionism? America's foreign policy of unquestioningly supporting Israel? Now British soldiers are dying for Afghans who hate them, want them out of their country and want to kill them.

Does this country have a Jesus complex?

Are British soldiers to die for all the world to save it from its sins?

It is immoral, indefensible and incoherent.

If I were a soldier I would mutiny than die for the knaves and fools who sent me there to die for nothing.