another essay

Analyse what other difficulties the leaders of parties in Opposition are likely to encounter.

Being in the opposition is certainly uneasy for the political leader. After a defeat in the elections he has to face many difficulties in the party and patiently wait for the next, in order to gain power.

The major problem for the opposition party leader is to sustain the leadership. It is the leader who takes responsibility for party result, so after a defeat many of his fellow party members may question his competences and try to replace him. That is what happened in 2010, in the Labour Party, where after a defeat Gordon Brown was replaced with Ed Miliband.

Especially after a high defeat the morale in the opposition party may be low. It may lead to wide conflicts inside the party or even withdrawals of some members. An example of this may be the 1997 elections, when the Conservatives, under the leadership of John Major were virtually destroyed by Blair's New Labour. After that Major had resigned and the Conservative Party remained in opposition until 2010. In such a situation leader has to remain strong, reorganize his people, start to expose the governmental weaknesses and do everything to prevail in the next elections.

The leader of the opposition party needs to form a Shadow Cabinet. It is an equivalent of the cabinet, where the opposition proposes counterparts for each of the current Minister. It is a difficult task, because when the Shadow Cabinet members are not as competent or as popular as the real Cabinet members, they may actually damage the image of their party.

Being in Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition is definitely not a dream of any party leader. It has many difficulties and little privileges. Leader of the opposition party has to not only fight with the government leader, but also with his fellows, who want to overthrow him.