The attraction to Orange Book Liberal Democrats would be obvious. With their party often failing to get into double digits, many Lib Dems are relying on a remarkable turnaround in their electoral fortunes to cling on to their seats. For those Lib Dems holding office, the situation is starker still. Not only do they find it harder to distinguish themselves politically from their coalition partners, but they have far less ability to practise the tried and tested Lib Dem technique of "digging in" in their own constituency. If you are a government minister, your ability to pound the pavements of your local patch and to be a constant presence at civic functions is substantially diminished. Your chances of retaining your seat as an active local campaigner, rather than merely a name on a party ticket, fall dramatically.
The strategy has potential benefits for the Conservatives, too. Although it would be close to admitting that an outright Tory majority was beyond them, it could entrench a couple of dozen Liberal MPs as part of a less temporary coalition committed to fiscal prudence and structural economic reform.
There is also a simple question of resources. Do the Conservatives really consider it wise to expend considerable amounts of time, energy and money attempting to unseat, say, David Laws in Yeovil or Jeremy Browne in Taunton? Might such efforts be better directed towards retaining current Conservative seats or perhaps even making a few gains from Labour? The coalition has sought to portray itself as an operation to clear up the mess left by the substantial overspending of the previous administration. But is that really the height of the government's aspiration?
Boris Johnson raised a laugh in his Birmingham speech by comparing the Prime Minister to a broom and senior Cabinet ministers to a range of other dreary household utensils. There are worse things to be than a government of domestic cleaners. But it is a miserable and uninspiring agenda. Much more needs to be done than simply balancing the government's books over seven years. We need dramatic reform of public services, a liberalisation of our economy, a substantial transfer of power away from bureaucrats to individual men and women and a society which celebrates and rewards enterprise.
To achieve just that, the Prime Minister should reach beyond the confines of the Conservative Party to build a wider coalition with classical liberals. The alternative could well be a one-term administration which promised very little and delivered even less.
