Winner of election will be out of power for a generation warms BoE Govenor

[Gromit]

Mervyn King the Govenor of the Bank of England has been reported as saying that whoever wins power at the election will have to implement such austere measures, which will be very unpopular, that they are likely to to be out of power thereafter for a generation.

http://www.guardian.c...warns-election-victor

Is victory a poison chalice?

[VHG]

Well it has gone that way a bit anyway.

After Wilson/Callagham Labour were really unpopular.

Then Thatcher won three elections (so must have been popular) and labour could not get a look in.

Then Blair won 3 elections and the Tories could not get a look in.

Now Brown is very unpopular and likely to lose next weeks election.

[jno]

you're reading it backward VHG - the Q is whether the *winner* is doomed, not the loser. As you say, an election winner normally gets a good run, of two or three victories in a row. But could the winner of this one be turfed out after four years?

Maybe, but I'm guessing not unless something really goes badly wrong. And I don't see anything worse than the current recession coming along ...<looks nervously at Greece...>

[ludwig]

//Maybe, but I'm guessing not unless something really goes badly wrong.//

I'd agree. Whoever it is is likely to be remembered as the austerity government that came in and dealt out a load of pain in the form of cuts and tax rises because there was no alternative. No-one's expecting anything other than that whoever's in charge.

We might feel aggrieved that they weren't exactly forthcoming about the extent of the cuts before the election, but there again, we know that none of them can be if they want any hope of winning.