A tale of two lefts

During last night's audience with Nichi Vendola, a completely un-scripted, two-way engagement between the politician and his supporters, I couldn't help feeling dismayed at the contrast between the Italian left and the British left. Yes, the left in Italy has been dismal over the past twenty years, barely able to rise above the chronic in-fighting and ideological divide between the various factions. However, at a time of real crisis, they've seen their opportunity and are doing everything to seize it. Who would have predicted, just six months ago, that Silvio Berlusconi would lose his stranglehold on Milan or suffer a humiliating defeat in three successive referenda? Not many.

By contrast, the British left, supposedly bouyed by the election of a new, young leader less than a year ago, is in uncontrolable freefall. I felt embarassed when asked about the situation in Britain in relation to the left by Italians excited at the prospect of change in their own country. As someone politically non-aligned, I believe that a strong oposition only benefits the democratic system, regardless of which side of the political spectrum that opposition is on. And bearing in mind that the LibCon coalition does represent a change from thirteen years of Labour government, it could be argued that we in Britain have had our evolution, if not revolution, and, for once, are freakishly in line with our European cousins in our swing to the right.

But my nagging feeling of disillusionment was only compounded when I returned home to read on the Twittersphere about Ed Miliband's bizarre performance in a television interview. The video of the interview has since become an internet sensation and added fuel to the fire of those calling for Ed's head. If Ed had nine lives before the infamous interview, now he must surely have at least six fewer.

Yesterday's Guardian boldly predicted that France will turn to the left at next year's elections. That seems  outlandish even by French standards. Assuming the esteemed leader writers at the Guardian are right, though, and given the turn of events in Germany and Italy, in this respect, at least, Britain is lagging behind the rest of Europe. And if things don't change soon, it could take another generation, another Blair, to reignite the spark that the British left has all but lost.