2006 - January

[El Gordo]

Political discussion certainly teases the metaphor from that cupboard under the stairs, doesn't it...?

I agree that Cameron's rise has focussed the minds of the Lib Dem front bench. Their own leader's ineffectiveness didn't matter so much as long as the Tories were floundering. I still sense that Cameron will ultimately disappoint his party. Much of his popularity and the (to me) absurd exaggerations of his qualities are a reflection more of their desperation to have someone (anyone!) to lionise than of his intrinsic ability.

You raise a good question about Kennedy's successor. At the moment this problem is his best hope of survival. It will have to be someone relatively unknown. Menzies Campbell has authority, but is probably too staid and old-school to be a hit with the voting public. Simon Hughes is one of the most irritating politicians on the stage. I remember his interview with Ali G at his miserable flat in Kennington or wherever, with his voluminous Y-fronts hanging up to dry behind him. I've never managed to shake that image from my mind when he pontificates.

Do the Lib Dems have another Paddy Ashdown tucked away somewhere? Boy, do they need him in this hour. Hasn't Ashdown just finished his stint in Bosnia? Hmm. What price a return to domestic politics for a final, daring, SAS-style rescue of a drowning friend??