A total eclipse of the sun takes place in britain every 80 or 90 years, a new leader for the Liberal Democrats every ten years and a new Prime Minister in Russia seemingly every other monthly, but they all took place this week and they may all turn out to be 'damp squibs'.
Almost since it was first raised 18 months ago the eclipse has caused controversy. At first it was derided as being of little real interest, then we had businessmen urging politicians and local authorities to 'get their act together' because it was going to be the biggest even in Cornwall's history. So extraordinary emergency measures were instituted and we had the newspaper stories of houses being rented for £10,000 a week and hotels charging two or three times the usual rate. Then the tales of gridlock and road chaos filled our TV screens which combined with the weather forecasts have had the last say. What a pity and I do not blame anyone in Cornwall. Proper plans had to be made, lurid newspaper stories of profiteering were never substantiated and most people understood that some inconvenience on the roads was inevitable and did not need the unhelpful hype of the media. Whatever you did I hope you enjoyed the occasion.
The election of Charles Kennedy as leader of the Lib Dems was also expected although Simon Hughes ran him fairly close. It has been a drawn out affair, almost as long as the eclipse saga but it was a demonstration of democracy in action. Every member could vote, nobody's vote was worth more than any other and through the proportional representation system used candidates had to achieve more than 50 per cent of the votes.
Voters placed candidates in order of preference. This resulted in a clear winner, who achieved the majority support and retained the unity and harmony of the party and the candidates. Just why the media tried to characterise the exercise as 'complicated' I do not know - I am sure most people can understand a ballot paper which provides the opportunity of placing people in a 1,2,3 etc order of preference.
My only hope is that Charles Kennedy lasts longer than the new Russian Prime Minister!!