Hidden agenda?

In an interview with Eric Pickles today, he talks about how Brown stepping down would make a Tory victory harder. You have to question the real reason for the Tories continually saying that they would fare worse if Brown stepped down. There are several possible reasons from what I can see.

1)They might genuinely believe that Brown standing down and someone like Johnson stepping in may make it harder for them to win the election.

2)However, if this was the case, then why would you keep talking about your weaknesses? Especially when Johnson or whoever would be the new leader would again have failed to be democratically elected as the Prime Minister by the public...

3) This leads me onto the most credible option. They keep talking about it, as they want it to happen. If Johnson was to become the Prime Minister, then there would be no way that he could continue until next year being the Prime Minister without going to the electorate. Hey presto! We would have that election that the Tories want so bad. If as Brown says, the economic policies that he has brought in start to work, the Tories are the last people to want Brown hanging on to power next year with possible signs of recovery.

However, there is the problem with the third scenario in that Brown provides the Tories with more scope for criticism. Brown has had problem after problem whilst being in office and his personality is attacked from all sides of the debate. But if he was to resign then they could not only lead on the weaknesses of Brown being confirmed by his resignation but also that the new leader is again not democratically elected, highlighting how the failures of Brown was also under an undemocratic leadership.

This is just my own take on the constant worries the Tories project in the newspapers over Brown possibly resigning. In sum, if you did not want something to happen, why would you keep talking about it?...