Nick Clegg, Conservative supporter
As we all now know, Nick Clegg will not be joining a Conservative or Labour government. His speech at his party’s conference was unequivocal:
Will I ever join a Conservative government? No.
Will I ever join a Labour government? No.
He’s starting to sound like Iain Paisley. Unfortunately, like the good doctor, he’s a slippery wee thing. You see, the FT reported, on February 8th, as saying that
his Liberal Democrats could support a minority Conservative government after the next election, if David Cameron proposes genuinely “liberal” reforms in areas such as civil liberties, public service reform and the environment.
As he went on to say, Mr Clegg sees problems with politics today and so is
.. interested in building a new type of government? Yes. Based on pluralism instead of one party rule? Yes.
Now, I’m not sure what that means. I do know that pluralism means acknowledging alternative centres of power or the diversity of a citizenry or polity. Given that plurality requires more than one, it doesn’t sit very well with the no, no above. Like so much in politics, it’s a meaningless word unless it’s defined. Here, it might mean forcing a minority Tory government to be a bit more liberal on same-sex marriage and so on. That, of course, can be done without joining a coalition. Parties can offer confidence and supply, allowing a minority government to remain in power but without a minor party entering the cabinet because that minor party will agree, although it might oppose the government on other issues, to vote for the government on appropriation motions and confidence motions. In other words, Mr Clegg is equivocating; it is too early to see how the election will pan out and so he is looking for positions that he can justify later.
The American Civil War general, William Tecumseh Sherman, made an unequivocal statement when people pressed him to be the Republican candidate for the 1884 election:
If drafted, I will not run; if nominated, I will not accept; if elected, I will not serve.
I would like to see Mr Clegg clarify exactly what he means by ‘join’ a Conservative government. Does ‘not joining’ allow for ‘confidence and supply’ or ‘confidence and supply so long as I can chair a constitutional task force’ or ‘confidence and supply so long as I can chair a task force and we have policies x, y and z?’
xD.
Update: Liberal Conspiracy reports on Mr Clegg and a new politicsÂ
March 10th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Gutless Nick is his usual uninspiring self
March 10th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
I’m afraid I find him deeply uninspiring. However, that is rather better than what will be perceived as a turning of coats should an arrangement be formed with either of the major parties.
As with the Lisbon referendum, it might be technically accurate but not perceived as honest.
xD.