It's the economy, stupid!

The words of Bill Clinton attacking George Bush Snr, which seem rather prophetic of the current problems facing British politicians and the attacks launched agaisnt both Gordon Brown and his Chancellor Alastair Darling. For Gordon Brown the challenge is to get voters to accept that there will be no crisis as he has contingencies in place, and that the crisis is not his fault but due to global economic problems beyond his control. The challenge for the Conservatives is the attach blame solely to Brown and to get the public to believe he is neither sufficiently prepared or equipped to deal with the impending crisis. If the crisis worsens the Conservatives benefit, if there are no further collapses then Brown may have time to shake this monkey off his back. Currently it is down to public trust to manage the economy, and perceptions of the two sides as they claim and counter-claim; the Conservatives' challenge, if they win an election prior to the global crisis going away, is to prove they can do better and to avoid opportunities for instant loss of credibility. Interesting times!!