10/05/2012
Articles from different directions â national and regional media, blogs and commentaries - are all pointing to stresses building in the Coalition administration, and a general souring in the atmosphere in Westminster. The Cameron bubble has burst, the political discourse drowned out by the clatter of
scales falling from eyes.
And although insiders insist that Cameron's position as leader of the Conservative party is safe, the fact that it is even being discussed represents of significant change in his standing.
Before we get too engrossed in the issues, however, the note from
Witterings from Witney reminds us that British politics is not the centre of the universe and that huge numbers of people find the soap-opera narratives immensely tedious.
Autonomous Mind has been saying
much the same thing in a different way, but also dissecting the man "devoid of any principle", who has much to further the destruction of the political system.
With the legacy media being part of the problem, it now matters less what their commentators say, although it is still interesting to see
Iain Martin tells us that the coalition is coming to the end of its life. Then we have the
Financial Times accuse Cameron of a lack of grip: "Adversity has now begun to reveal underlying cracks in the administration", it says. "If these are not repaired, they could threaten the integrity of the whole venture".
In days gone by, that might have generated speculation about an early general election. But the fixed term robs us of that potential entertainment. There are three long years to go before this administration is scheduled to grind to a halt and we are finally rid of it.
That leaves us just EU affairs to
get excited about. Ambrose, as ever, paints a picture of darkening horizons. Colossal misjudgements are now being made in Berlin and Frankfurt, making an unhappy ending more likely by the day, he says.
But perhaps the most significant
news of the day is that an estimated 30,000 police officers marched through London to protest about proposed changes to their pay and conditions, while prison officers stages an illegal walkout. If Mr Cameron can't even keep the police and prison officers happy, he is in serious trouble.
Meanwhile, people with whom I could always rely on to talk politics are switching off in their droves. But at least we're not yet
like Iran, where a cartoonist was sentenced to 25 lashes for drawing a caricature of an MP that was deemed insulting.
If they could, I'm sure some of out little darlings would import that law, although so prevalent now is politics fatigue that many could hardly be bothered to lampoon our MPs. They do such a good job themselves, unaided.
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