Vince Cable is ignored on the ground shouting random directions to attract attention from the crowd. Little can be done to avoid Gordon claiming credit and to be fair, his contemporary version of the Swedish bail-out model was better than the Paulson Plan Mk 1. The Tories plan in their attack to hold off until recession bites and then point the public towards Gordon and give him the credit he deserves for the magnitude of the bust.
Might work, though Gordon will try to pass the buck as ever, blaming Iceland or the non-appearance of the tooth fairy for Britain’s woes. The triumphalism of this week may fade from the public’s memory pretty quick. Danny Finkelstein has nailed it to Gordon, “If this is a triumph, I’d hate to see a disaster“. Fink’s argument needs to be re-scripted in populist form.
In a month or so attack videos need to replay Gordon intoning an end to “boom and bust” over and over again at different times in different ties, than replay him asking last week “has another bank gone bust?”, zooming in slow motion on to that, for once, authentic smile. As recession brings unemployment and repossessions, his self confession to presiding over the age of irresponsibly low interest rates and a failed regulatory regime he designed needs to be drummed into voters – along with Gordon’s smile of triumph amidst disaster.
