An arm and a Clegg

You can argue that it cheapens the process, that things have been boiled down to a bizarre twist on X-Factor, that it's equivalent of a political Punch & Judy show, but the televised leaders debates are nothing if not interesting.

It remains to be seen how big a sway the results of the debate have on the way people vote (I'm not entirely sure how you'd tell, to be honest, but I'll leave up to those clever political science bods, wherever they are). It is interesting to see how the latest opinion polls turn out after each debate.

I think a lot of people have been taken by surprise by the energy, competency and passionate performances by Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg. There's probably an element of him having nothing to 'lose' especially from the exercise, but even still he appears to be significantly more comfortable whilst debating. Of the three leaders, I think Gordon Brown is the best orator. He may bumble around being awkward when forced up against the public, but put him at a lectern and let him speak he looks and sounds like a statesman, like a guy who could actually run a country. However, once they hit free debate he turns rather more into a pub bore, quoting the same numbers over and over again and then simply asking the other two why they don't agree with him.

David Cameron looks more like an estate agent or a used car salesman. There's something slimy, condescending and creepy about him that puts my teeth on edge. It doesn't help that I fundamentally disagree with him about everything, but I could say the same about most of the decisions Gordon Brown has made since becoming Prime Minister. It's just Cameron seems to be a really awful person that I would trust to sell me a flat, let alone run the country.

Clegg, though, seems to have found a happy medium of being able to speak freely but authoritatively, engaging his questioner, and audiences both studio and TV, and being able to hold his own in free debate. I've been very impressed by a lot of what he says. In last night's debate, however, I feel he may have made a bit of a tactical error by nailing his colours so firmly to the mast of the European Union.

Don't get me wrong, I think he's absolutely right about our role in the EU and how short-sighted those who wish to burn the bridges with our neighbours are. I just don't think that makes him particularly electable. I'd wager a large proportion, if not most of the population of this country are sceptical about Europe to say the least. By all means answer the question about the EU, but he continued to hammer home the point in free debate later on.

Still, a quick shuffle through the latest polling data suggests I am entirely wrong at that Clegg still was deemed to have won the debate by most pollsters.

With one debate, and just less than two weeks to go till polling day, I find it difficult any outcome other than a hung parliament. Cameron can beat up the hapless Brown all he likes, but it'll take something pretty special to defeat both Brown and Clegg at the same time.

A hung parliament, though, might be the best thing to happen to British democracy in years. With whips effectively neutered, every piece of tabled legislation will have to be properly debated. It's only a shame that the dark lord Mandelson manage to bumfuck his horrendous Digital Economy Bill through the commons so soon. In the end, however, I think we'll end up with much better laws being made as a result.