Cats Lying With Dogs

Or, a rare instance in which Alastair Darling and I appear to be in agreement.

Me, this morning:

What is Gordon Brown’s ministry for? What does he want to achieve that his party could not achieve in its first ten years in power? Again, the answer is hard to discern. As with Mrs Clinton there is an unfortunate whiff of entitlement about Brown. He doesn’t deserve to be Prime Minister because he has a compelling, sweeping vision for the future but because, well, because he’s waited a jolly long time and it’s his turn to be Prime Minister. But that’s not enough. Is there anything actually there? It’s hard to say.

Alastair Darling, this afternoon:

“We have got to make sure that in other areas we sharpen ourselves up, that we have a clear message of what we are about…All governments and parties go through difficult patches. This is a time when we should remember why we stand for government, the purpose of being in government.