I enjoy following elections in countries where I cannot vote. Sometimes I think I like it better than when I can vote. Perhaps because I don't have as much invested, or perhaps because I don't have to make a choice. Or perhaps because the Norwegian system is somehow more sinsible (or, more likely, the crazy stuff does not stand out for me because I grew up with it).

Yesterday was another moment of glory. I read that Nick Clegg had said that Brown could not expect to continue to be Prime Minister if he lost the election and came third of the parties. My brain said "yeeeeees?", wondering a little if Clegg had run out of things to talk about since he had apparently turned to statements of the obvious.

But. And here is the wonderful thing that makes following British politics a bit like a glorious car boot sale: today's paper makes clear (what it probably assumed I knew yesterday) that there is in fact a "constitutional convention" that in a hung parliament the Prime Minister is allowed to try to form a government first. So there is a genuine possibility that a man with the least votes gets to be PM. What happens if the LibDems turn down Labour the first time around (ie Gordon as PM) and then when it becomes their turn decides to run with Labour over Conservatives (which, let's face it, is the sensible thing to do for them), would Brown then say yes? Does anyone know?

Also, why would Clegg want a coalition with the Conservatives? He doesn't agree with a word they say!


Edit: had an epiphany.