Missed the British Election?

Not to worry. Chances are, it will be around again soon.

In the meantime, says John Lanchester, Conservative David Cameron and Lib Dem Nick Clegg will jockey for position:

The Tories’ goal will be to look like a plausible government and to reassure both the markets and the electorate. Doing both at the same time, in the current fiscal climate, won’t be easy. Cameron’s one big advantage is that electorates hate being made to elect and will resent the party which forces the next contest. Clegg’s goal will be to remind everyone he exists and to get them thinking that he would be a better PM than anyone else. He can bring the government down whenever he likes, so his task is to pick the right moment, one which makes him look like a man of principle and the Tories look like eye-bulging ideologues.

Oh, and the other guys? Their job will be to pick a successor to the most unloved British Prime Minister in modern history.