Coalition politics

Three initial thoughts about Cameron and Cleggs deal:
1 - Cameron talks about the need for Strong government. Nobody has yet seen fit to point out to him the inconsistency of this with his call for smaller government and a ‘Big Society.’ I suspect the ‘Big Society’ will be quietly forgotten sooner or later. His call for smaller government however is a different matter; surely smaller government needs a weaker executive, not a strong one?
Of course, when he wants a strong government he means he will not need to worry about votes in the Commons. But the point still stands. If he wants smaller government, like in America, the Executive (central government if you prefer) will need to give more power away, and then become, dare I say it, weaker.

2 – At first I was prepared to greet the Con-Dem deal with cynicism. Would the Tories take it seriously, or deliberately ruin a coalition to prove one-party rule is best. The initial signs, to Cameron’s credit, suggest otherwise. He does indeed seem to be taking it seriously.

3 – The elections big scandal (apart from a lack of debate on drug policy) was the disenfranchised voters, unable to vote, despite arriving at their polling stations on time, to find either a queue or insufficient numbers of ballot papers. During the hype of the coalition building, it is disgraceful that this story has not received more attention.