It's exactly a week since voters went to the polls in one of the most exciting UK elections for a generation, and provided the spark for a week of events that few in British politics will ever forget. And even as the coalition Cabinet gathered for its first meeting this morning, those looking on could still be forgiven for doing a double-take.
It's a fundamental truth of coalition governments, one that many Western democracies have long since come to terms with, that politicians can spend weeks enthusiastically tearing into their rivals' policies and personalities, only to find themselves sharing power with those same foes within days. But in this country, whose politics is defined by, and renowned for, its adversarial nature, such a pattern of events seems truly remarkable.
Above all it's the timing of this outcome that carries a particular irony, for it is following the election campaign that, for the first time, saw the three main party leaders pitted against each other in a series of presidential-style showdowns, that we are left with this almost equally unprecedented state of affairs.
The leaders' debates were supposed to provide the British public with the clearest opportunity yet to analyse every aspect of the candidates' suitability for the highest political office in the land – to determine who was the right man, the right statesman, to lead the country through the various challenges that lie ahead at home and abroad.
The debates had also always been predicted to be a boon for Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats, but few predicted the public's response in the opinion polls – not only seen immediately after the first encounter on April 15, but sustained right up until the week of the election. The continuation of this trend, even as his counterparts belatedly began to turn the screw in the following debates, served to reinforce the sheer scale of the original impact.
So with the two-party habit of British electoral politics finally and decisively broken, perhaps we should have seen this denouement coming. The Conservatives were always facing an uphill battle to achieve the historic swing required to gain an overall majority, and with the Lib Dems strengthened in their very legitimacy like never before and even Labour finding its feet as it launched a renewed backlash against Tory policies, surely it was inevitable that the seats would be too evenly spread for any party to be 'first past the post'?
In the light of this, what do the election results mean for the legitimacy and stability of the new government? The inability of any party to take a decisive victory and the unwillingness of the Conservatives to attempt to go it alone have resulted in representatives from the country’s third most popular party sitting at the Cabinet table, co-governing according to a fresh 'manifesto' – the coalition agreement – that nobody voted for.
It is interesting, also, that one particular issue – voting reform – appeared to be the pivotal factor in 'sealing the deal' for a coalition government, even though it featured prominently only in the Lib Dems' campaign, a campaign that yielded just 23% of the popular vote. Having said that, one of the primary arguments in favour of the current system is that it delivers decisive majorities for the winning party – so perhaps it is no wonder that (notwithstanding a forthcoming referendum), a landmark change appears inevitable.
With such fundamental issues arising from them, the significance of the events of the past week is clear to see. Over the coming days, I will be reliving the events of the lead-up to and the aftermath of the election, taking a closer look at the results of last week’s vote, and also addressing some of the big issues and decisions facing this extraordinary new government.
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