The Politics Of Recession

It's roiling the waters in Britain as well - as Labour drifts left and the Tories move right:

Mr Cameron's decision to apologise for his party's mistakes on the economy sits uneasily with George Osborne's refrain that this is “Labour's debt crisis” created entirely by Gordon Brown. The Tories' call for a bonfire of regulation appears at odds with their demand for tougher controls on the banks. The party that has traditionally been on the side of the rich cannot agree how hard to be on its old friends ...

The state of the public finances will silence right-wing calls for tax cuts - but leave the Tories open to accusations that they will squeeze the public services until the pips squeak instead. After years in which Mr Cameron emphasised his commitment to civil liberties and “compassionate conservativism”, he has appointed his personal attack dog, Mr Grayling, to rebalance the party's approach to law and order by calling for “fewer rights, more wrongs”.

New polling analysis here. It's not yet clear whether this is a smart strategy for the Tories. They are still suffering from the "nasty party" image indelibly marked since 1997.