Bird’s-Eye: Approaching the May 6th general election, it appears that the UK will have a minority government (based on the position of the entrails of the tofubeast we ritually slaughtered.) Why? It’s partially due to Lib-Dem leader Clegg’s stellar performance in the first two debates, partially due to Cons leader Cameron’s steadiness, partially due to a spectacular gaffe by Labour leader Brown, and general disenchantment among Labour voters.(Best headline on Brown’s gaffe was the Sun’s: “Brown Toast” We offer readers a perspective on events:

* UK Seats Projection: Tories 299, Labour 199, LibDems 120 (as of 4/29/10)

Quite bad news for the Labour party; we now show them holding on to only about 200 seats in the House of Commons, versus roughly 300 for the Conservatives and 120 for the Liberal Democrats.(Editor’s note: Notice that Labour gets more seats than the Lib-Dems with fewer votes!)

* Nick Clegg Goes Public On Coalition – And Looks To The Conservatives The Guardian

Clegg said he would not prop up Labour if it came third in the vote yet secured the most seats. He said: “It seems to me that it’s just preposterous, the idea that if a party comes third in terms of the number of votes, it still has somehow the right to carry on squatting in No 10 and continue to lay claim to having the prime minister of the country.

“What I’m saying here is pointing at a very, very irrational possible outcome of our potty electoral system, which is that a party that has spectacularly lost the election because fewer people are voting for it than any other party, could nonetheless according to constitutional tradition and convention still lay claim to providing the prime minister of the country.”

* Gordon Brown: A Duffy Day At The Office The Guardian

Election gaffes are all different, but they have a common anatomy. They confirm an essential truth. When Mr Brown angrily blamed the staff member who had set up the conversation and described Mrs Duffy as “bigoted” into the still-live Sky radio mic before his car had turned the corner, every gossipy charge made about his personality suddenly became more plausible. But it was more than that. It exposed the hypocrisy of politicians, pretending a stage-managed event was spontaneous. It revealed, again, the arrogant disdain of the elected for the electorate. Mrs Duffy’s views, right or wrong, may be shared by millions of older voters. Now they will also share Mrs Duffy’s subsequent bewilderment and distress. Factor in the utter defeat of Mr Brown’s posture in a BBC radio studio a little later, his hastily rearranged schedule to apologise in person, and the unsuccessful statement to camera as he came out on to Mrs Duffy’s doorstep – and a mildly unsuccessful voter encounter had gathered enough momentum in the media to strike a large blow, on the eve of a key televised debate tonight, to a faltering campaign