Iain Martin blogs today on PMQs and the ins and outs of whether Parliament really is sovereign.
Card reading? Yes please.
Questions from Cameron
The Dog: "Loyalty, sincerity, unconditional love."
The loyalty here is to parliamentary tradition, not surprising from a Tory but surprising that, since Cameron has begun to work on new rules for his own party, he does not want the imposition of an independent rules commission. The "sovereignty of Parliament" here is sacrosanct, but wasn't it that that got us into this mess? Perhaps Vulpes Vulpes has more to hide than just his party's shame. Or he may be wary of committing himself fully to something he can't justify spending any money on. Since he wants to abolish the Electoral Commission and return control of the voting system to the Home Office without maintaining a watchdog, it's not surprising he thinks, ultimately, the poachers are going to make fair gamekeepers as well.
Answers from Brown
The Wind Faery: "Thoughts, words, intellectual analysis."
What Brown does best - analysis without reaching deeper into the emotional pits of his understandings. However, the faery here looks blissfully ecstatic, as if she has elevated herself above the wider world and is released from past physical and emotional torments. Ascent is possible but whether things Brown proposes will ever get done is the salient point. He has so far failed to come up with new rules - can he really do anything else to alleviate the pressure? This suggests he may still be able to.
Possibilities arising from this exchange
Restriction.
This is a good card in this situation, since to me it says that anything proposed now will be a good thing and be successfully established. The need for restrictions is all too clear, so there is a definite prospect of the construction of a body to constrain and restrict MPs' ability to run the system to their own specifications.
Ongoing developments
Trust.
This idea of Brown's might definitely restore the confidence that Parliament - and perhaps even his government - has lost; it may not be a surprise that the Tories will oppose it (they seem to work on narrow political grounds so much they don't often look as if Vulpes Vulpes could ever be comfortable with answering questions rather than asking them). Something allows things to return to a position where the public feel more able to put their trust in their representatives - hopefully to the detriment of the BNP.
Short term outcome
Merlin: "Alchemy, justice, balance."
The situation does provide a good dialectic to develop and enhance the quality of political life, though the smoke coming from the dragon's nostrils suggests to me there will be a time of restructuring, possibly even difficulties, before this is reached. The system needs to be melted down and reshaped, and this will be what is really needed, rather than just a quick fix geared towards petty political ends.
Long term outcome
The Stag: "Pride, leadership."
A restoral of confidence in the system and the emergence of a purer and more genuine political debate freer from sleaze and scandal. Parliament's reputation may currently be damaged, but this does not represent a catastrophic failure in democratic norms nor in the ability of the system to evolve into something less nasty and tainted than before.
