Clegg's challenge

They were not complaining when the Sheffield Hallam MP was calling for "a new politics" during the pre-election debates when the leader

of the Liberal Democrats was riding high in the opinion polls.

Yet now Mr Clegg, and his party, are being condemned for taking the decision to form a coalition with the Conservatives, and try to influence policy from inside government.

The Lib Dems were right to do so. A formal coalition, built for the long-term, was the only viable option once the election result was known. And, as Mr Clegg highlighted in Sheffield yesterday, the responsible course of action was to help form a stable government rather than stay on the sidelines.

Of course, Mr Clegg's record is not blemish-free. Some policies could have been better handled, particularly measures to mitigate the impact of spending cuts in Northern cities.

Yet, the challenges posed by coalition government are new to the entire political establishment; there is no rule book to follow. Furthermore, the Lib Dems and the Tories are, at least, facing up to

the scale of the budget deficit that they had the misfortune to inherit from Gordon Brown while Labour remains in denial about the crisis and is unable to offer any financially sound policies of its own.

This process is, inevitably, going to be a painful one. Indeed, it is already proving to be so. Yet it would be imprudent to make a rash judgment on Mr Clegg's decision after just 100

days in office. The next election, assuming this Parliament runs a five-year course, will provide a more accurate assessment, and specifically on the coalition's handling of the economy.