This year was so rich in stories – Expensesgate, the election and historic coalition, the Icelandic volcano, General McChrystal’s dismissal, the Pakistani floods, Haiti’s earthquake, Greece’s near-collapse, the Will n’ Kate engagement, Wikileaks, the Chilean miners and so on – that it is hard to pick just one story. Looking back over the year, however, I think two stories stand out – because they may herald a seismic change.
The first is, of course, the establishment of coalition. By now, the novelty of government by cross-party compromise has worn off. But, despite the gossipy complaints of a few Lib Dem ministers, a new kind of politics is being forged. It may not mean a permanent Con-Lib Dem coalition but it will mean that formal coalitions are no longer taboo, as they were in 1997.
The second biggest story is not, as I’m sure many will say, Wikileaks. Bradley Manning is waiting to be tried, some cables are still to be reproduced and new security protocols have not been put in place.
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