A new politics emerges from old confrontations

IT is frequently said that a crisis brings out the best in people – and David Cameron and Nick Clegg are certainly abiding by this maxim.

This has been a business-like, and reassuring, start to the new Liberal-Conservative Government that has emerged from the political paralysis created by last week's election.

It also helps that the two men, with only 14 years of Parliamentary experience between them, have shown great maturity in setting aside their differences to work together to achieve a common good. This was illustrated by their first joint press conference – a quietly authoritative occasion in the Downing Street rose garden, where they set out their determination to preside over a stable, five-year Government underpinned by freedom, fairness and responsibility.

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This is what Britain's new politics is going to look like. As Mr Cameron said, co-operation has to triumph over confrontation. He's right. There has been too much short-termism – one reason why public spending spiralled out of control.

Equally, Mr Clegg, the Lib Dem leader and Sheffield Hallam MP, could not have been more unequivocal when he stressed: "This is a Government that will last." The fact that one of its first acts will be to legislate for fixed-term Parliaments, compelling the next election to be held in May 2015, also illustrates the seismic changes now underway.

The two men say they are in this for the long-term – and their determination should not be under-estimated. As Mr Clegg added: "We were rivals. Now we are colleagues."

Testament to this is how the two men have constructed an astute Cabinet that appears prepared for the tough challenges ahead, and which will test these collaborative arrangements to the limit.

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With a Lib Dem in every department, and with Vince Cable and David Laws due to preside over the spending review with George Osborne, both parties have effectively agreed to implement the cuts that Labour shied away from.

Of course, this approach is a consequence of these tumultuous times, with the closest election for generation being followed, at a bewildering pace, by two historical precedents – the appointment of the youngest Prime Minister for nearly 200 years and Britain's first peacetime coalition for 70 years.

This is also a Government with the toughest inheritance of any administration since Winston Churchill's wartime coalition; a record deficit and unemployment soaring to a 16-year high before the Cabinet had even been appointed.

It is little wonder that voters are fearful – especially with Bank of England governor Mervyn King's warning that the recovery will be weak and that the size of the spending cuts will irrevocably damage the decision-makers.

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Can this Government be trusted, they ask, following the economic recklessness of Gordon Brown?

However, adversity does not necessarily have to be a hardship. It can be an opportunity – and that is certainly how Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg regard their challenge. Indeed, the new Prime Minister alluded to this immediately after his appointment when he spoke about the "tough and difficult work" ahead, but how this can lead Britain through to "better times ahead".

This candour contrasted with the choreographed triumphalism witnessed in 1997 when Tony Blair and New Labour swept to power.

Yet, while this Government's first pronouncements have been born out of political necessity, Britain could – if this united front holds – find itself on a momentous journey towards a new political order. For decades, this country has become accustomed to tribal politics with one party attacking another and vice versa. Furthermore, a succession of one-party governments have been undermined by huge ideological and personality divisions which saw them ultimately fail to fulfil their full potential – the decade-long power struggle between Mr Blair and Mr Brown was certainly not conducive to good governance. It perpetuated adversarial politics, and brought out the worst in many politicians.

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As such, Britain may – inadvertently or otherwise – have found itself with a Government that is applicable for modern times, with the return of consensual politics as the daunting economic crisis concentrates the Cabinet's mind.

Businesses have to make compromises every day over strategy. So, too, do individual households over the spending of the family budget. Why, therefore, should the Government be any different in being driven by the need for efficiency? This is also a political arrangement that will require every policy to be carefully considered from the outset; initiatives formulated on the hoof for publicity's sake will only fuel unnecessary acrimony.

What this country needs, in fact, is a quiet, undemonstrative Government that gets on with the job of making public services more efficient. It does not need a continuation of New Labour's obsession with the cult of celebrity and the 24-hour news media.

Of course, David Cameron and Nick Clegg face a daunting task – the mutual admiration of yesterday will, at some point, be replaced by the policy tensions. How these disagreements are handled will define their respective careers.

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Both men also have to win over the critics within their respective parties who are unhappy at the far-reaching compromises that underpin this historic coalition. Both parties have moved a long way towards the centre ground in the blink of an eye, and many are fearful.

This will require careful handling. But the best way to placate the sceptics is for the two men to start using their power wisely, responsibly and effectively. If they do, they can vindicate the electorate's judgment – and send out the strongest possible message

that Britain is open for business, and in safe hands.