The old and new prime ministers may not have made the trek to Buckingham Palace yet, as negotiations continue with the leader of the third party following the indecisive United Kingdom election last Thursday. There can be little doubt that the Conservative leader, David Cameron is in the ascendancy and has pretty much secured title, pro tem, to 10 Downing Street as the photo of the VE Day commemoration in London shows.
link: Electoral Demand Stalls Coalition Deal in Britain - NYTimes.com
Just who as the grimmest face amongst the three and is in the unenviable position on the left? If this was the seating arrangement at a session of the Chinese Politburo. pages would be written about these things. One has to wonder about the discussions that went on in the back-rooms, however, as preparations were made for this ceremony.
As someone who is more accustomed to how changes of government are handled in the Canadian "colony", I was somewhat astounded to hear that UK Cabinet Office officials were co-ordnating discussions between the three party leaders. That is something that would not happen in the hyper-politicised Canadian Privy Council/Prime Minister's Office and a Canadian PM would not relinquish the centre position until a successor had taken the oaths of office. Maybe the Brits have learned, and remembered, something after 8 centuries of working on this parliamentary democracy thing. It explains why I alternate between tears and shivers when I walk into Westminster Hall but merely look at the portraits, for their artistic merit, when I enter Confederation Hall.
