The Lib Dems get their moment in the limelight today with the launch of their manifesto.
Having entered the campaign in high spirits and even higher aspirations they find themselves in their usual predicament of being squeezed by the main two parties.
The voters who flirted with the Lib Dems in local and European elections are switching back to Labour as they realise that is the only realistic prospect of keeping Boris Johnson out of Downing Street.
The Lib Dem cause is not entirely lost.
They still have a good chance of snapping up Tory seats such as Richmond Park, Cheadle and Cheltenham. A really good night could see them hold the seats of defectors such as Sarah Wollaston and see Chuka Umunna take the Cities of London and Westminster and Luciana Berger win Finchley and Golders Green.
But there is no sign they have that most elusive and prized of electoral assets, momentum, to make the breakthrough required on a national scale.
The Lib Dem problem is two fold. Firstly, their unequivocal stance on Brexit is both a help and a handicap. While it gives them definition and a clear appeal in areas which voted strongly for Remain such an absolutist position is a disadvantage in its former heartlands such as the south west of England which voted heavily for Leave. Secondly, they have put an unknown and inexperienced leader, Jo Swinson , at the heart of their campaign without apparently considering the limitations of her appeal.
Swinson is bright and energetic and, the more observant will have noticed, both a different gender and generation from the Labour and Tory leaders.
But she can sometimes come across as a bit priggish and po-faced. Investing everything in Swinson’s leadership and the single policy of opposing Brexit may turn out to be the biggest misjudgment of the election.
