Across the pond

Calamity Clegg, as he was so memorably named by his opponent in the Liberal Democrat leadership battle, by his opponent Chris Huhne, may have more gravitas than most of the political commentators give him credit for. The contest between the two men grabbed no headlines and attracted little comment elsewhere in the newspapers, preoccupied as they were with the series of blunders which beset the Prime Minister. One of the main problems was that the two men agree about most things and seem to be good friends. The only occasion when either candidate indulged in the robust attack on the other candidates which usually happens in contests for political leadership was when Huhne, who started a long way behind in the contest, lost his normal cool, and attached the calamity label to his opponent. Clegg did not hit back at Huhne. Perhaps he was secretly quite pleased. He has been labeled by the commentators as Cameron lite, the man who can get all people to love him. More Blair than Brown and supposedly as guilty as them as bending his beliefs to grab votes. But Calamity Jane, was you will remember a crack shot with a gun, but totally lacking in what it needed in those far off days, to win the love of a man.But underneath the glib persona there may be some steel. When asked shortly after his election whether he believed in God, he gave a clear ‘No’. Although Brits are way below the Americans in church attendance most repeatedly they tell survey questioners that they do believe in a God. Additionally the most of the increasingly important Muslim voters, far from wanting to start a crusade against Christians, know the reality of the fact there is a huge overlap in the teaching of Jesus Christ and Allah. Clegg has not got a mandate to reshape the party in his own image. But the message from the Liberal Democrat voters is that they don’t want such a leader. They see the different merits of both men, who have far more in common than they have differences. And they want them to work together as part of a cabinet, which will also include at least two of the former leaders, Mengies Campbell and Vince Cable. Much has been made by the commentators of the junking of Mengies Campbell, allegedly because he was too old. In my view there was much more to it than. Although Campbell’s analysis of political events was cogent and often trenchant, he did lack the spark to ignite an audience, which Charles Kennedy had (when he was sober) and which other party leaders like David Steel and Jo Grimond had. Vince Cable, showed in his short spell as acting leader, that he had that spark. He blends cogent analysis with a keen sense of humour and his ability to use that humour to bring ridicule on his opponent. Brown as Mr Bean will remain in the Parliamentary book of humourous quotations for many years to come.The next two years offer the best chance the Liberal Democrats have had to make an impact on the electorate. The chances of neither Conservative or Labour getting an overall majority at the next election are very high. And the Lib Dems are well placed to lambast Labour on their erosion of civil liberties, new Labour’s Thatcherite tendency to fail to regulate big business which has led to Northern Rock and many irresponsible mortgages to people who cannot afford them, and the privitisation of essential public services, which leads to such absurdities as computer disks containing private information about British citizens being sent to Iowa.My advice to Calamity Clegg is to gather your posse together and when the time is ripe bring them down from the hills, with all guns blazing. Whip crack away.