A Government of National Conspiracy?

Anthony Barnett (London, OK): My good friend Tom Nairn is back from his regular sojourn in Melbourne but has come down with the flu, whose symptoms this winter seem to be particularly vicious and lasting. Gasping down the phone he promised to write a piece about what he thinks Brown will do next. He is convinced that he will seek to win power without a proper election, by creating a government of national unity. If you will excuse the pun, this will cash in on the crisis. The inclusion of Vince Cable seems to be critical to the success of such a master-stroke, to be orchestrated by Mandelson, aka "Bobby". I was meditating this scenario when, blow me down, Vince wrote his pitch for just such a stitch-up in the Mail on Sunday. After he attacked David Cameron by name for "moral indignation several years too late", but sent a signal by not criticising Gordon Brown.

Instead Cable wrote:

"There is, however, a deeper and bigger question: how to maintain a sense of national unity and purpose while the crisis unfolds.

Even if all the steps taken by governments work, it will take time to produce results.

Next year will be like an economic battle in which there are mounting casualties coming back from the front line but no sign of victory.

I believe the public will see the need to ‘stick together’ and, in particular, will expect the political parties to rise above the usual petty, tribal bickering.

There will be calls for a ‘government of national unity’, to get political adversaries round a table working together rather than pointing fingers at each other.

There must, of course, be vigorous debate and public accountability, as well as unity, but I think the public senses that this is not what they are getting at the moment.

I see the personal and party animosities played out every week at Westminster and wonder if the political classes are capable of grasping the enormity of the crisis we are in and the challenge to us to behave differently.

If we do not, the public will become seriously angry. We know from history that such anger can lead to extremes....

There is a vacuum of leadership waiting to be filled by those who can translate a craving for fairness and the sharing of pain into the economics and politics of every day life....

This is our chance to promote common sense, stability and the fair treatment of our fellow citizens. A happy and prosperous New Year to you all."

If that isn't a "Gizza a job, I can fill the vacuum" I don't know what is. It left me looking forward to Tom's full analysis as soon as he has recovered sufficiently so that he can set out the dynamics of a government of national conspiracy before it happens.