Organisation: Liberal Democrats / Sir Menzies Campbell

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Analysis and commentary by Echo Research.

The crowning last week of Sir Menzies Campbell as Liberal Democrat leader finally put the party back on a positive footing after the string of revelations sparked by Charles Kennedy's resignation in January. Widely seen as " the safe bet, the comfort zone, the elegant, hot water bottle candidate" (Guardian, 2/3), Sir Menzies was careful to stress that as well as bringing strong leadership to the party, he would also overhaul its organisation and policies, take risks and generally confound expectations that he would be a caretaker leader. The headlines reflected his success: " He's bloody resilient. He's competitive, he's tough"(Guardian, 3/3), " Ming's moment" (The Times, 3/3), " Menzies: Here for keeps" (The Sun, 6/3).
Ming's glory was marred by inevitable mutterings about his age, his health, and his ability to take on Opposition whippersnappers : " Putting Sir Ming in charge … has the effect of making Gordon Brown look like a fresh-faced potential prime minister" (The Times, 3/3), while the Guardian warned he was " a bit long in the tooth" (2/3). Yet Campbell's performance in these early days, including pushing through a Post Office privatisation motion and proposing higher green taxes, suggest the Ming dynasty could gain some territory in the hotly contested political centre ground come the General Election.