TORY LEADERSHIP ELECTION: 'Confident' Major evokes echoes of the past Major defiant but lonely figure at summit

CANNES

John Major came out fighting last night, but he looked a lonely figure when he arrived at the European summit at the Palais des Festivals on the sea front at Cannes.

The Prime Minister arrived late for the official welcoming ceremony by Jacques Chirac. Mr Major stepped out of a Renault on to the red carpet 10 minutes after President Chirac had retreated inside the glass and concrete conference centre

It looked as though even his closest European friends had written him off. Inside the conference centre, the German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, put his arm round Mr Major in a gesture of support, or sympathy. Mr Major was heard to say: "Thank you. Thank You. Thank you very much."

He showed no signs of stress when he emerged after the afternoon's discussions on economic and monetary union, the issue on which the challenge by John Redwood is being made. Mr Major's contribution to the summit was to advocate more policies for small businesses.

Accompanied by Howell James, his political secretary who has been drafted in to his campaign team, Mr Major clearly hoped that his timing of the contest would enable the summit to show him as a statesman. Today he will have a meeting with John Bruton, the Irish prime minister, on disarming the IRA, to underline his success on the Irish peace process.

But the other delegations have made no secret that they believe the questions over Mr Major's future and the announcement by Douglas Hurd, the Foreign Secretary, that he is to retire have undermined the British position.

Kenneth Clarke, the Chancellor, looked chipper yesterday, waving from his beach-front hotel room. His aides said he had no intention of running, but his mind must have been on second ballot in the leadership contest when the summiteers were discussing the next steps towards European economic and monetary union, the issue which divides the Tory Party.

The Prime Minister attended a working dinner with the summit leaders last night over the future of Europe, but the future of Mr Major's leadership has overshadowed the British delegation. There were parallels with the Paris summit in 1990, when Baroness Thatcher heard the result of the first leadership ballot, which spelled her end.

There were also echoes of her remarks: "I fight on, I fight to win." Mr Major's aides said he was "very calm, very confident and very determined".

But some in his party were openly contemplating the possibility of Mr Major being forced into a damaging second ballot. They expect Mr Major to fight a run-off against Michael Heseltine.

"The right cannot win the leadership. They don't have the numbers. There is no way that Redwood can win. The parliamentary party is dominated by the centre-left. And those votes will be picked up by Major on the first ballot," said one.

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