We said when this contest began that Ed Miliband would win it.
Watching what proved to be the fact was very illuminating.
Ed Miliband could be seen to shape himself to assume authority and became instantly presidential in manner – back straight, hand held up, palm facing forwards.
When he spoke, his first words after gratitude for the honour, were to his brother – they were rather stickily of love and respect, of lessons learned.
What cynicism we might have felt at this seemed echoed in David Miliband’s strangely unmoving, almost unblinking and distanced observation of what was being said to him.
It looked coolly evaluative, knowing.
Suddenly this looks like we could have a rerun of the Blair-Brown grudge years.
On one hand, an indecisive backroom wonk of questionable electability who has been taught to believe that the job is his.
And on the other, unexpectedly, a friend – this time a brother, a man in more control of the outward face of things and ruthlessly decisive in taking his chance,, challenges him and wins.
In those minutes, David Miliband’s knowledge of his brother was readable in his face, in its steadily analytic composure.
A wit has emailed to say that basic maths could have predicted the winner of the Labour leadership contest.
There were two Eds in it.
There were two Milibands in it.
So the Highest Common Factor was an Ed Miliband.
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Or it could be that Ed Miliband was the Lowest Common Denominator?
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