The economic secret of Nick Clegg's success | Aditya Chakrabortty

Tuesday, April 20, 2010 - 01:07 in Mathematics & Economics

The rise of the Lib Dems is obvious if you think about it in economic terms. Most people tend to go for a compromiseBefore Thursday night, Nick Clegg wasn't so much the third man of British politics as the fourth: he was the young guy forever hovering at Vince Cable's shoulder, the most anonymous of the main-party leaders.After Thursday night's TV debate, polls show that the Liberal Democrats' leader is almost as popular as Churchill; others describe him as the British Obama. Not bad for an hour and a half's work. Ever since, politicians and commentators have struggled to account for Clegg's transformation. It was the way he looked directly into the camera, we are told. The informality with which he used audience members' forenames. Or a straightforward revulsion with the old politics and its shopsoiled politicians.Well, maybe. But there is another explanation for Cleggmania. This one doesn't...

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