…can be found on Comment is Free:
These questions, for the Lib Dems at least, are important. The party president is not a figurehead but an executive role. I happen to think that the more focused Lembit who ran a highly organised campaign four years ago would have done a much better job than Simon Hughes. But now? He says he wants the role but all his actions suggest that his campaign is little more than an afterthought. Whether that is complacency or apathy, it is the last thing the party needs right now.
b is a bit harsh…
I disagree. Lembit sat on the same FE as me and thus could see Charles wasn’t bringing anything to the table. It was a difficult decision to say to Kennedy that it could no longer go on, arguably one which should have been made much earlier. But with Lembit as President it would have been even harder.
While in an ideal world things could no doubt have been done better, I have no doubt that if Kennedy had not been pushed the party would have paid an even bigger price in the long term than it did. And banging on about loyalty just makes the rest of Lembit’s parliamentary colleagues look like shits. Some might even call that an act of disloyalty.