Churchill remains a beacon for Tories

london - You just have to dare; write a biography about Churchill. More than a thousand have been published in recent decades. But Churchill's life can always be rewritten in the light of current political circumstances.

That is why the Conservative historian Andrew Roberts pays attention to the self-confidence of British politicians. That is lacking in his eyes nowadays.

'History will kindly judge me, because I intend to write that history myself. 'These words of Churchill are often quoted. And it is indeed amazing how much Churchill wrote, alongside a successful and long political career by all standards. His collected work is more extensive than that of William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens together.

It virtually prevents anyone from making a judgment about Churchill himself. In contrast to the superficial, but easily readable, sketch that Boris Johnson wrote several years ago- mainly to mark his own political ambitions- Roberts does not lapse into clichés. In his fistful biography, 1151 pages! !, Roberts is not blind to Churchill's flaws. From his aversion to women's suffrage, his opposition to the independence of India and numerous failures in both World Wars.