I know we've been saying things like 'death knell' every week but the past week has seen some pretty big shifts
Like the mooted U-turn on the totalitarian database and the expenses farce, which I think is perfectly described by Nick Robinson:
Remember that first of all, he said that this wasn't a matter for him. Then he said that it was a matter for an enquiry, after the next election. Next, he said that the enquiry should be quicker, before going on to pre-empt it with a proposal for a daily attendance allowance which was broadcast on YouTube and therefore not open to questioning either by MPs or by the media.
Finally, last night, he effectively abandoned that idea in a letter carefully released after a news conference in Islamabad and once he was protected from questioning on a flight to Warsaw.
That's about four U-turns and no solution on the horizon - our 'PM' has gone from being too slow, to being too rash, to dropping the issue
Now that's good government - 'I'll say lots, then drop it' would at least be a reasonable political manoeuvre
Unfortunately Gordon is not blessed with the political grace that his predecessor had, he initially cocked up the response and was foolish for thinking he can get away with dropping the issue
There is a very clear image in my head now, of a battered old juggernaut who has somehow found himself on a cliff top road, following the curves and bends on the cliff, with a sheer drop of 100 metres at the side of the road
Old Gordon careers forward, putting the truck in the wrong gear, turning too late and smashing his back end through the barrier, but he chugs along, swaying wildly as he constantly slides on and off the edge of the cliff, how he has got this far no one knows
It would be quite impressive to watch really, if we were watching on the telly, rather than being in the back of said trailer
I mean what else is there, Gordon? The Home Office look set to backtrack on the database, even ID cards seem to be under increasing pressure (they may be citing costs, but as if it makes a difference, it's a climb-down) and Eco-towns are doomed
Seriously I can't think of any other legislation, so why exactly are we prepared to put up with this for another year? While I welcome a decrease in legislation numbers that had rocketed under Labour, we're talking big, useful things here - most of those 3,000+ laws were just EU fodder - but now there are no big plans, just Gordon trying to stay in power and Straw and Harman's pet projects - that's surely not right
I worry that all this collapse will do is justify Jacqui Smith's removal, not the government's
All this is an indication of how much we are abused by the parties - no policies, no ideas - just power, that Labour want to keep hold of and the Tories are happy to take by default
I could also go on about how the situation is what makes these climbdowns so powerful - you can't be seen to be weak so you have to stick to a failed policy until it is beaten to a bloody pulp, and that's no good for anyone
Politics really is broken
(P.S. Why exactly is Gordon off on another world tour, a week after his Easter holidays?)
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