Nick Clegg is clearly the bookies and the Westminster favourite to succeed Ming but there are reasons to believe that he might be the wrong choice for the Lib Dems. Unlike the two main parties, Lib Dem leaders have to earn their media. Charles Kennedy and Paddy Ashdown were successful at doing this because they stood out from the herd at Westminster in a way that Clegg does not. Indeed, Clegg’s similarity to David Cameron might be a real problem for him especially as Cameron has already established himself in the public mind which Clegg has not. Why would voters chose Diet Cameron when they can have the real thing?
The other big question about Clegg is whether he is ready for prime time. As Mike Smithson of Political Betting is fond of pointing out Clegg rarely reaches the heights when the pressure is on. A few poor PMQs performances and Lib Dems could find themselves subject to another bout of leadership speculation.
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