The Dark Lord is still spinning

Lord Mandelson appears to have pulled off at least the half-chance of continuing the nu-Labour regime that little bit longer.

Perhaps this is not the wisest move for Labour. Whoever comes in must make cuts, deep and severe cuts.

And they'd have to do so propped up by at least one other party in the Lib Dems, who could walk at any time. And in Labour's case, a few assorted other fellow travellers too.

Such an arrangement would give the Liberals the PR they want (like our presidential electoral system) but would be exceedingly fragile. This appears to be the main reason why the Liberals have permitted Westminster posh boy Clegg his flirtation with the Tories.

While Brown remained in charge of Labour, he remained a block on such a Lib-Lab pact. Mandelson now appears to have unblocked that in dramatic fashion tonight. Or was it perhaps a last throw of the dice by Brown himself, putting party and country first?

Either way, it's now a live option. The Liberals need only swallow hard, suck up the approprium of the Tory press, and cut the deal.

The alternative is now to prop up a minority Tory government, as coalition was never likely there, on the basis of a slender promise to examine electoral reform.

Not an easy choice, and getting harder for Clegg by the minute. Walking away from the Tories would please his party but not the press or many of the people.

This election has made life very difficult for all three parties. And all the available options provide concern for each of those parties.

But from an Irish point of view, there's little doubt that a coalition of Labour and the Liberals which included nationalists from the Celtic fringes is a wet dream for most Irish people.

And the alternative, Tories propped up by the DUP, doesn't bear thinking about.

This will likely result in bitter recriminations one way or the other. But if those recriminations are heard loudest from the Tory press and the Cameroons, then likely Gordon Brown and his dark Lord will consider today's stunning events to be a political masterstroke.

Gordon's last stand

I bet Brown doesn't read this blog. And that's going to be something he'll regret, because I know how to save his career and his legacy.

He needs to call Nick Clegg and offer him the following improvement on the existing offer - two seats at cabinet for him and Vince Cable, one of them being that of the Prime Minister. And insists that he or Darling, with Cable's assistance, ride out the financial crisis.

Brown then makes a public speech acknowledging he has been rebuffed as PM, and offers the public change they can believe in - a Clegg-led administration, heavy on the Labour ministers, but with the addition of Clegg and Cable.

And he offers his own expertise as Chancellor to steer Britain out of the crisis with Cable's help.

He then steps down to cabinet and does just that, the one thing he does well - manage the economy, alongside Cable. The markets would believe in that team.

Gordon could step down, and will do if Cameron puts a deal together. It will be the cruel end that most politicians suffer. But there is the chance to stay in the game, redeem his reputation and do the state some service.

He should offer Clegg the poisoned chalice of sitting in Number 10, holding together a rainbow alliance, and the chance to implement their policy in Government.

He should enjoy this one last victory over the Tories and over Mandelson, who would take no part in such a cabinet and would be banished to the Lords, which would then be immediately overhauled.

And he should take this chance, this last stand, to redeem his legacy with one last masterful stint at the job he's good at, rather than the job of Prime Minister.