How does Darling stand it?

Alastair Darling is responsible in law for what the Treasury is doing and failing to do. Everything within his remit is going terribly, terribly wrong. There is almost nothing he can do that is any use and that is not even his fault in truth except, of course, that he has always supported the reckless and increasingly ludicrous Gordon Brown.

Leaving aside party affiliation and political philosophy (that's polite code for the fact that he is a bloody Scottish Socialist) I have to say I feel for the man.

He must feel something close to despair. He has all the responsibility and none of the authority necessary to do his. I make no comment on whether he has the ability because there is no way of knowing.

Musing thus, I came across this:

It's an open secret in Whitehall that he has been kept out of the loop on the big banking decisions by a prime minister who defers to the Square Mile in the form of Lord Myners, the City minister, Baroness Vadera, the trade minister, and Lord Mandelson.

As Kenneth Clarke, the new shadow business secretary, put it: "Alistair Darling could be quite a good chancellor, if Gordon ever gave him the job."

The extent of his isolation is clear from the line-up of people involved in the "morning call" the Prime Minister makes at 7.30am from which ever part of the world he is in. They include Michael Ellam, his official spokesman, Damian McBride, his influential former spin doctor who is now involved in strategy, Ian Austin, his former parliamentary private secretary who is now a Whip, Tom Watson, the Cabinet Office minister, Baroness Vadera and Lord Mandelson. The Chancellor is not included. John Kingman, the head of UK Financial Investments, set up by the government to manage the new state-owned banking assets, reports directly to Mr Brown, not the Chancellor.

I wonder how many times in the average week Darling ponders resignation?

Yes, I am feeling mellow after a good dinner and a politician-free Any Questions starring the glorious Scruton.

There was one gobshite on the panel, a ranting Guardian hack and member of Compass who recommended the tearing up of the rule of law in a predictable echo of Prescott this morning. The three grown-ups present each put him down in the sweetest way, making him sound like the half-rabid pillock he is and you would expect him to be, given his CV.

No AQ for me next week. Not with Teresa May on it, God rot her, along with a LibDem culcher woman, Nick Cohen, and someone else whose name escapes me but I thought would fit in with those three just dandy.

I must try not to read any more news tonight. This mellow feeling is most pleasant and although I could get angry enough to blog at the drop of a hat, I would rather not. Not tonight.

Bon soir.

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