It is too early to call him the comeback kid of British politics, but Nick Clegg enters the party conference season in better shape than anyone expected him to be four months ago. Back then, his party did not dare put his face on its campaign leaflets. Even Liberal Democrat ministers didn’t expect Clegg to lead the party into the next election.
This is beginning to change. Clegg looks happier than he has in months: the hunted look has gone from his face. Last week, watching him walk through the corridors of the Institute of Contemporary Arts on the way to a party for one of his aides, I was struck by how relaxed he was. A few months ago, it is hard to imagine that he’d have been as comfortable wandering around such a student hang-out.
The Liberal Democrat leader’s mood has been lifted by the beginnings of a recovery for his party.
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