One thing that really separates Conservative voters from the Liberal Democrats is the issue of Europe. Almost all Conservatives are, to one degree or another, euro-sceptic.
So I was interested to hear Clegg switching his position on the Euro and saying that he thinks now that it would have been the wrong thing for the country, if we had entered the Euro in the last few years - quite a different position from the one he has previously taken.
I thought it was also interesting that Chris Huhne floated the idea that the LibDems could cook up a deal (in the case of a hung parliament) with another party while specifying a change of leader as a condition.
And - also Clegg seemed to be making the point that he would support the party who got the biggest mandate to govern..
And - he has dropped the traditional LibDem demand for a change to the voting system as a pre-condition for an alliance with another political party..
So what can be concluded?
The LibDems are thinking ahead. They know it would be asking for trouble to do a deal with Labour under Gordon Brown unless he has a serious mandate. It just wouldn't be sustainable.
But if he goes much further than he has already, how long will it be before the mainstream media see Clegg grooming his party for an alliance with the Conservatives? and in so doing, identify the choice for the voters as being Labour or Conservative/Lib Dem.
The question then, is how many people who would have voted Lib Dem, then vote Labour to oppose the Conservatives? And does this then give Labour a mandate?
Hmm.. Complicated init...
0 comments:
Post a Comment