THE GUARDIAN: Nick Clegg's love affair has brought the Liberal Democrats short-term power. But longer term, the deal is a suicide note
Admit it, Clegg, you're in love. You rise each morning with that ache of uncertainty in your breast. You choose that tie, that suit, those shoes with him in mind. You scurry early to the office, practising the phrase that will please him, the gesture he will notice. When you first see him in the corridor … you can't help it. The knees go. He is adorable.
The trouble is, an angry wife and family are watching and waiting back home. This weekend, the Liberal Democrat conference will want to know exactly what has been going on between Nick Clegg and David Cameron these past five months. The party has been forgiving, so far, since Clegg has given its members a high profile, a tinge, a hint of real power. But for how much longer?
From his first storming election debate last April to his present high poll rating, Clegg has led the Liberal Democrats into high places and tempted them beyond their dreams. Assorted party wonkery about income tax thresholds, pupil premiums and electoral reform are suddenly taken seriously. They are in play.
Then there are the jobs. Nineteen out of 57 new MPs have government employment, five of them in the cabinet. No Lib Dem MP ever imagined they would experience such titles, salaries, cars and dispatch boxes. Despite having five fewer MPs than in the old parliament, Clegg has taken his followers where no Liberal since Lloyd George has dared to tread.
So much for the good news. The truth is that behind the razzmatazz Cameron's coalition agreement was a political coup worthy of Walpole. He bought himself a Commons majority for the duration of a parliament. He knew that joining a coalition would devastate the Liberal Democrats at the polls, so he hired enough MPs, bound hand and foot, to give himself safety. The MPs took the bait. Sooner or later, the Lib Dem backbenchers are certain to run for opposition cover, but for those who took jobs with Clegg and entered the coalition, the much-trumpeted "programme for government" last May was short-term glory but a longer-term suicide note. Read on and comment >>> Simon Jenkins | Thursday, September 16, 2010
Watch Guardian video: Nick Clegg's speech at the Liberal Democrat conference 2009: Highlights from the Liberal Democrat leader's keynote speech at the party conference in Bournemouth >>> John Domokos | Wednesday, September 23, 2009
THE GUARDIAN: Nick Clegg becomes a Tory poster boy: Nick Clegg is now more popular among Conservative supporters than Lib Dem ones. What explains this strange development? >>> Tom Clark | Thursday, September 16, 2010
