William Hague's election as leader of the Conservative party holds little promise of stemming the tide of their decline, which was marked but not created by the general election defeat.
His victory, followed by the refusal of various advocates of monetary union to serve in his cabinet indicates the ascendancy of the Euro-sceptic right.
Hague's recent announcement that he was joining the campaign to save the hunt show once again to which mast his colours are nailed.
Whether any other outcome of the leadership contest could have healed Tory splits and reversed their crisis is highly questionable. The deep divisions in the Tory party have manifest themselves time and time over the last few years - most sharply, though not exclusively, on the question of Europe.
The pro-European position was championed by Ken Clarke in the leadership contest and by others in the party, such as Ted Heath.
It is based on the fact that big business, on which these politicians rest, favours European intergration as the best way to achieve competetive profit margins against Japanese and American imperialism.
Losers
Conversely the position of the sceptics is based on a material fear that the British petty bougeoisie, crucial to the historic electoral base of the Tory party, will lose out in an intergrated Europe.
It is these vital economic interests which produce the deep the unpleasant jingoism propagated by these forces rather than the other way round.
The divisions in the Tory party are heightened by the fact that the big bourgeosie, deeply wedded to the cause of European integration have come increasingly to see Blair's Labour Party as a better bet.
Blair has - so far at least - been much more successful in uniting his party behind his quest to join the single currency than the pro-European Tories are ever likely to be.
Of course support from the key sections of the ruling class for Labour is by no means permanently assured - the class struggle, and how Blair reacts will doubtless affect how long the present stance is maintained.
But even if Labour ceases to be a safe pair of hands it is not at all clear that the Tories will be in any shape to fill the gap.
While it would be too premature by far to say that a split in this party is inevitable, neither can it be ruled out. William Hague will need more than a spin doctor who it is suggested mient rival Mandelson.
In the end politics is determined by much more powerful forces than cosmetics.
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