With the 'coronation' of Sir Menzies Campbell seemingly continuing apace, surely the real plum job at the Liberal Democrats is that of the shortly-to-be-vacant deputy leader to Ming the Merciless?
And that job is neither in the gift of the new leader, nor in the hands of the much-fabled 73,000 party members. It will come as a direct result of a secret ballot of Lib Dem MPs, and must come after the main election contest is over if Ming wins and thus the deputy job becomes vacant.
Deputy to Ming is the ideal "learning-the-ropes/leader-in-waiting" job for the next generation of young popes. In that category I would include Mark Oaten (who would surely prefer to win that post than lose to Ming now), Nick Clegg (a Campbell/Clegg parntership would be the nearest thing to a "dream ticket" for many LibDem activists) and Ed Davey (who's had a relatively low profile since taking the education brief).
And if the party wants a female deputy (the absence of any female runner in the main stakes is embarrassing for a supposedly progressive party) then new London MP Lynne Featherstone has shown herself an adept media performer and strong-willed London assembly member.
Alternatively - could Oaten stand for, and lose, the main job, then throw his hat in the ring for the deputyship? Or could Lembit "Loyalty Card" Opik join the race for the seemingly more junior post, after his heroic 72-hour defence of Charles Kennedy throughout the weekend?
This is defintely the contest to watch...
