George Osborne is the politician’s politician: a strategist and gifted tactician. There are little clues to the ways he constantly tends the political garden he cultivates. The chancellor handwrote ‘thank you’ letters to the key Tories who played a role in last month’s astonishingly successful local election night. Osborne thanked them for the contribution they made, which he termed a “tremendous achievement”.

Few frontline politicians remember the workers in the wake of a triumph. These are the touches that go down well and inspire loyalty among the troops. Osborne has finally learned the importance of making allies. It is this attention to detail in the politics of things that makes Osborne such a powerful political friend to David Cameron and foe to Labour.

And gossip. Like all great politicians, he hoovers up political chatter. Knowledge is power and those who succeed always have a handle on what’s being said about whom.

Osborne is master of two briefs. He is the chancellor. And he is the Conservative Party’s political brain. Both are vital roles. His relationship with his long-term friend the prime minister remains deeply loyal and firm. They speak constantly and they text one another. In meetings the chancellor invariably dreams up the solution and the tactical implementation. He has already enjoyed the kind of stellar career most politicians could only dream of, and yet he has only just celebrated his 40th birthday.

The coalition government is run by the ‘quad’ – David Cameron, Osborne, Nick Clegg and Danny Alexander. Osborne invariably chairs this meeting of the most senior officials and advisers because of his political skills. The key figures he listens to are Matt Hancock, the youthful MP for West Suffolk, and his partner in crime, the elegant Rupert Harrison. On the official side, principal private secretary Dan Rosenfield has recently quit the civil service to take a lucrative job in banking. He is replaced by Beth Russell, the very capable Treasury brain who worked closely with Gordon Brown. Pals say this shows how Osborne is happy to work with anyone as long as they’re good. Indeed, both he and predecessor Alistair Darling spoke at Rosenfield’s discreet leaving party in the sumptuous rooms of 11 Downing Street.

Osborne splits his day between Number 11 and the Treasury. The day begins in Downing Street. He is surrounded by portraits of Gladstone and Disraeli along with family photographs.

Officials had to procure new laptops after moving in only to discover just one working computer in Number 11. The doors connecting 10, 11 and 12 Downing Street have been thrown open in the wake of the Brown premiership. As one aide said: “We can do this, because the PM doesn’t hate his chancellor and vice versa.”

He has struck up a strong working relationship − which many see as blossoming into a friendship − with the chic Christine Lagarde of France. He could not have known when they first met that she was worth cultivating as a future head of the IMF. But it was striking to see the pair of them appear on Newsnight – after enjoying a private supper together – with the French finance minister supporting his decision to keep the UK out of the Greek bailout plan.

Osborne’s place in history depends on wiping out Britain’s deficit and securing private sector economic growth. Backing his own judgement is the first test.

George Pascoe-Watson is a partner at Portland Communications

Tags: David Cameron, Downing Street, George Osborne, Issue 37, Number 11, Treasury