The significance of Clegg’s PMQs win

Nick Clegg’s assertive performance at PMQs today was a demonstration of the fact that he now feels more confident than he has since his failure in the AV referendum. The deputy Prime Minister doesn’t crouch defensively at the despatch box anymore, and he brushed off some rather good one-liners from Harriet Harman. She joked that the only thing the deputy Prime Minister stands up for these days is the PM entering the room.
 
Clegg and his team feel that things are looking up for them, that they are setting the agenda. Even the Lib Dem’s lowly poll rating isn’t dampening their mood.
 
So, what does this change mean for the coalition? Senior Tories claim to be delighted that Clegg is happier, claiming it makes him easier to deal with. But the real test of this will be if Clegg can move from negative differentiation — saying no to Tory ideas, painting them as the party of the rich — to positive differentiation, arguing the case for Lib Dem ideas on their own terms.