CamClegg government tonight?
May 11th, 2010On Day 5 of this most amazing saga it looks as if before the clock strikes twelve tonight Cinderella will be led hand in hand into Downing Street by the charming prince. Clegg has survived being called a harlot by former Labour Home Secretary, David Blunket. And being told his tactics were from ‘the Robert Mugabe school of politics’ by the former Conservative Foreign Secretary,Sir Malcolm Riffkind, who used to be a model of gentlemanly courtesy. The not so ugly brothers, David and Ed Milliband, are reported to be considering fighting each other to win the consolation prize of leader of the opposition. Ed Balls and others will also throw their hats into the ring. So the LibCons will have a honeymoon period while Labour buries Gordon Brown and New Labour, and recreates itself.
Nothing is certain. But at the time of writing it is clear that the projected LibLab pact has been blown out of the water by the eruption of the old hatred of the LibDems, or more particularly the Social Democrat wing of the Liberal Democratic Party. In the minds of those in Laabour politics at the time, the Gang of Four who left the party to form the SDP were traitors. And just now one of the young Labour ministers, Andy Burnham confirmed to BBC reporters that many inside the cabinet did not think a LibLab pact was viable.
Cameron and Clegg are due to meet their MPs again at dinner time, and the likelihood is that they will have agreed a deal by then. And that it may be a full-blown coalition. According to contacts of former Sun political editor, George Pascoe-Watson, Clegg will be deputy prime minister and the Lib Dems will have six cabinet posts.
The daily novelist will be out to dinner in Stoke Newington, so it will be tomorrow before I got a chance to examine the deal.
But it looks as if this hung parliament might prove very good for British democracy. We might end up with a viable government and an effective opposition, both of which are better safeguards for our political life than Prime Ministers who would really rather be Presidents.