The Liberal Democratic Party has lost confidence through nervous perception rather then just cause. Yes there was the car crash of the AV vote. Electoral Reform is not only off the radar, having been the focus of so many members for so long, but it was decisively rejected by voters. Then there were tuition fees. For a party which relied so heavily on the protest vote for spectacular victories in times past, it is hard to have been the object of widespread and often unruly protests by new enemies made up of old friends. A massacre at the local elections last May and opinion poll ratings which consistently show on average a likelihood of no more than a dozen MPs are not the bedrock on which to build confidence and morale. Finally we dare to mention the euro. The only party to back it up hill and down dale…..? Oh dear.
Of course none of this (except the euro) would have happened if Nick and Co had stayed out of the coalition. So we can say it is all the price of government. This is the nub. Government of an economy in crisis, demanding cuts, austerity and choices between evils comes at quite a price. But without paying that price first, the biggest reward in politics, endorsement by the voters for delivering good government, cannot be collected later.
Cast around at paralysed European politics and dysfunctional American government and the UK looks by comparison pretty good. Yes there are problems of growth, but all is not lost and the government has a much more focused programme than most. Among ministers, Lib Dem nominees look as good as, if not better, than the Tories. Clegg is recovering and Vince is a star. The message that the Lib Dems stop Tory excess is slowly getting through. It is true that we have retained first past the post and that many floating Lib Dem voters have floated back to their home port of either the Tories or Labour. But as these two big parties remain of similar voting strength there may well be opportunity for a lot more government for the Lib Dems in times to come.
It is a message of hope to proclaim a party which can deliver better government. In today’s sharper world, a party proclaiming a preference for perpetual opposition has little relevance and less appeal.