The narrative truth

Quote of the day - Matthew Parris:

Satan might nip back to Tory HQ to advise the new leader on how best to make the change, be the change. And what he most assuredly does not say is: “Here’s a nifty stunt: fly to Rwanda and make like you’re doing NGO stuff with some starving Africans. Voters will think you care, ha-ha.”
He says: “Look, David, you do care. But you need to show it or you’ll never be prime minister and put your principles into action. We both know – and for Pete’s sake, the voters know – that a few days in Rwanda surrounded by cameras can’t achieve useful fieldwork; but your visit works on deeper levels. It’s a metaphor, David. It says ‘I care’; it says ‘Tories care’; it says ‘the issue matters’. It says ‘The Conservative Party has changed’. It’s the narrative, David, and the moral of the story is true, even if the story itself is a bit . . . er, constructed.

Constructed? It's a stunt. And there is no moral to the story.