When 24/7 news fails... watching the reporters

As a bit of a Party Constitutional hack, I watch BBC News 24 and Sky News with some frustration, interspersed with an occasional urge to shake an errant correspondent by the throat and scream, "Why don't you actually find out how this really works?".

I'll start with the 'triple lock'. There are those, mostly outside the Party, who ridicule the idea of requiring a 75% approval from the Parliamentary Party and the Federal Executive. Think about it, without such a level of approval, it is unlikely that any deal can be made to stick in any event. A party leader has to be able to bring his or her troops with them, and whilst there are likely to be those who could not stomach any particular deal, 100% agreement is impractical.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect is the apparent inability of the media to work out where the power actually lies within the Party. They recognise Nick, they recognise the negotiating team (Messrs Alexander, Huhne, Laws and Stunnell). Occasionally, they recognise those who actually have nothing to do with the core process and seek their views - entertaining because they don't have access to the key data. Beyond that, I have spotted other key players entering and leaving meetings completely unremarked upon. I won't name them, as it might impact on their ability to do their jobs, but I am reassured that they are there.

Interestingly, the Party structure is not necessarily easy to divine if you're an outsider. If, on the other hand, you're the sort of sad person who has a copy of the Party Constitution on his laptop, you're a bit better informed. It's a bit long, and a bit complicated, but twenty-five years as a faceless bureaucrat helps. But because I'm a caring person, I'll do a little research...