DAVID AND NICK. Not quite the biblical story, but is it all getting a bit embarrassing already?

The press conference that Cameron and Clegg held at 14:15 today was absolutely vital. It was to send a message out to the world, that a coalition government formed out of a first past the post system could work. To tell the bankers and workers in the city that the stable government they were hoping for was being delivered in the Conservative and Liberal Democrats’ pact.

It was all a bit too light hearted though. Of course, they both want to be seen as young and vibrant. They achieved that. They want to be seen as getting on well on a friendship basis, as well as a political one. They achieved that. But, it is inconceivable that they sought out to make people groan in cringe. But, they definitely managed that one.

It’s quite obvious that the press are going to bring up past statements that the political leaders have said about the other. They were, after all, political rivals. However, we are not in election mode now. Funniness in front of camera just won’t stick – policy is what politics is about after all. A serious answer was needed to the question that was put to them by Channel 5’s political correspondent.

“Do you now regret when once asked what your favourite joke was, you replied Nick Clegg?”

Something along the lines of “That’s in the past, we were political rivals then, we have ideological differences etc” would have more than sufficed. It was the sensible thing to do. The scenes that followed though were painful to watch. If your mate does a similar joke after a few drinks, even then it would be an atmosphere breaker. If you have evaluated that this is far too serious an analysis for one action, then think of it like this. These two men are supposed to be running the country.

The Con-Lib coalition has announced their cabinet today, and therefore crucial decisions will have been made. Don’t they think that the electorate would rather find out what concessions have been made by the Tories rather than the ‘Tom and Jerry’ scene that we saw? Of course, the people want to know that the two can work together – that is absolutely crucial, as several media outlets have pointed out. But there is a significant backlash from the electorate that a coalition between the two has been formed. The view that the Lib Dems have betrayed those that had voted for them can be understood. The outrage shown on social networking sites such as Facebook represents that people feel that the Liberals have let Cameron swan into Number 10.  Surely those angered by the pact can see through the act that the two put on this afternoon in the gardens of Downing Street?

Cameron advocated in his first speech as Prime Minister that the country has some serious issues to face. To face such a task, we need some mature leadership. On today’s show, it looks like we have a coalition of clowns. It might sound harsh, but timing jokes is one of the most important things in performing them. The press laughed, the electorate groaned.

There are sure to be many people that want a sling and some stones to toss at the pair of them, and knock a bit of seriousness into them.