The Conservatives’ next election campaign will be run by Lynton Crosby, an Australian whose success has earned him the title ‘The Wizard of Oz’. On examining L. Frank Baum’s classic children’s book, the nickname seems more pertinent than you might imagine.

Lynton Crosby’s skill, according to Andrew Gilligan in the Telegraph, is not so much a genius for strategy, but the ability to ‘instil direction and confidence’. The Wizard has a knack for this too. When Dorothy and her companions return to the Emerald City to see Oz, having defeated the Wicked Witch of the West as bidden, his rewards for them would be useless if they didn’t have confidence in his power. It is because they believe in him that the Scarecrow feels ‘wise indeed’ after Oz stuffs his head with brains of bran, the Tin Woodman is ‘greatly pleased’ with his sawdust heart, and the Lion feels ‘full of courage’ once Oz has given him a drink. ‘It was easy to make the Scarecrow and the Lion and the Woodman happy,’ says the Wizard afterwards, ‘because they imagined I could do anything.’

Oz proves to be no mighty Wizard, but only ‘a little old man, with a bald head and a wrinkled face’, discovered hiding behind a screen in the throne room. It transpires that he is a mere circus balloonist, whose balloon got caught in a current of wind and carried a long way from home. ‘I found myself in the midst of a strange people, who, seeing me come from the clouds, thought I was a great Wizard,’ Oz explains to Dorothy and her friends. The Conservatives were similarly awed when Crosby landed Boris another four years as mayor. And of course it suits them to imagine Crosby has magic powers, rather than Boris real appeal.

Baum’s Oz is not particularly Wonderful after all. He manages to fob off the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman and Lion with sham rewards, but doesn’t fulfil his promise to get Dorothy back to Kansas. He suggests going by hot air balloon, and so Dorothy helps him stitch together a magnificent ‘big bag of green silk more than 20ft long’. When the balloon is launched, however, Dorothy dashes off to look for her dog Toto, who is lost in the crowd, barking at a kitten. It means she is too late to reach the balloon before it takes off; Oz flies away and leaves Dorothy behind, clutching Toto and screaming. Of course, it wouldn’t be a problem for Crosby, who could use his infamous dog-whistle to catch Toto’s attention, and then they would all sail off together to great heights of success.