The real debate is how the 'main parties' deal with Nick Clegg?
They say a week is a long time in politics, but it turns out 90 minutes can make a world of difference. With only a few days to the second leaders’ debate, this time on Sky, the Liberal Democrats have blown the election race wide open with Nick Clegg’s performance.
We were among the 10 million who tuned in and one of the 36,000 who were tweeting during the show, picking apart the dialogue and Twitter was identifying Clegg as the winner as quickly as any live worm poll!
We suspect that both Labour and certainly the Conservatives had dismissed Nick Clegg and worried about each other. Indeed let us not forget that it was Cameron who gifted the slot for the third party during the negotiations. In hindsight eh?
Of course, Brown only agreed to the television debates because he had nothing to lose and it would have suited Cameron for him to have declined, not least as he could have been presented as a coward. Then came the myriad rules that robbed the debate of much atmosphere and stopped the audience from clapping! All paved the way for Clegg to shine. Remember we blogged about how he had the most to gain.
Reading commentary over the weekend it was noted that the Liberal Democrats may have benefited from not being able to afford the expensive American political pundits who undoubtedly prompted Cameron to tell his ridiculous and often inaccurate folksy stories – ‘I once met a black man...’ anyone?
Instead Clegg remembered the basics, calling questioning members of the audience by their names in a natural fashion that differed from the stumbling copycat reactions of Brown and Cameron. He was also pretty smooth at addressing the live camera and talking directly to his audience.
The next debate will be fun. Now all eyes will be on Clegg who has gone from zero to hero and now he has everything to lose. Actually, so do Brown and Cameron, because if Clegg shines a second time... well from shortening odds, all bets would be off.