The Liberal Democrat party in the UK has been going through a period of slow-motion panic over the last couple of weeks. Their leader was about to be exposed as a long term alcoholic and so took the preemptive step of publicly disclosing his problem. Then the Members of Parliament booted him out of that position. They didn’t want a leader who for days was unavailable, was unreliable and had secrets, so after a short but vociferous whispering campaign, he resigned.
Coming into the spotlight were many individuals who’d been just under the radar of popular recognition. Many of them were completely run of the mill and unexpected, others old hands who deserve (if that’s possible) a chance to make change. This paints a picture of dire political crisis that isn’t strictly accurate. During the 2005 national general election the Liberal Democrats achieved their highest vote percentage ever with a strong increase in Members of Parliament.
What’s silly though is the consideration of some that they might be a candidate or that the public ever would vote in someone who they can’t even name-check:
One of the most obvious lessons I extract from the messy fall of Charles Kennedy is that the party cannot afford to have another leader who does not enjoy the unambiguous loyalty of the overwhelming majority of his parliamentary colleagues. A leader who spends his time looking over his shoulder to make sure his own colleagues are on side cannot be effective in making advances against the other parties. This, I should perhaps add in answer to a little media speculation, is one of the many reasons why I never entertained the idea of standing in the contest myself. A rookie MP, barely arrived in the House of Commons, would need to spend far too much time establishing his authority in Westminster. We need a leader who has got the clout to hit the ground running, make bold decisions, from day one.
This comment comes from Nick Clegg, a man who only just got elected in the 2005 election having been an MEP in Brussels and working at the European Commission previously. One year of backbench experience does not a leader make. Go and sit in a cupboard for five years and then think again Mr Clegg. He’s excellent and has done some amazing work in Brussels on opening up markets, but he’s not got the clout to be the leader yet, not for a long time.
Guardian Newspaper: Nick Clegg Comment: It’s a marathon, not a sprint
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