Expect ‘sporting’ behaviour in race to be Prime Minister

Summer term gets underway this week at Westminster and summer means sport.

With the general election less than a year away and sure to be tight there’s all to play for politically, so look out for even more examples than usual of party leaders trying to be seen with winners.

The bar was set high last summer with Andy Murray’s Wimbledon win.

First there was there Alex Salmond’s flag waving stunt as the Scot put away match point. Then a few days later Murray was invited to Downing Street where Cameron, Clegg, Miliband and every half-baked hanger on made sure they were photographed with the new champ.

To be fair, at least the PM and his deputy are tennis fans. Though in recent months Cameron has been on court more with the Clegger than with Clegg.

The Prime Minister has nicknamed the ball machine he uses to practice his return of serve the Clegger. The human Clegg seems to have declined the opportunity for a rematch after Cameron “thrashed” him at Chequers in the early days of the Coalition.

With the Scottish independence referendum round the corner another Andy Murray victory will provoke all sorts of discussions over whether he is Scottish or British and what it means for the big vote in September.

The Commonwealth Games are similarly tricky. Whilst the success of Team GB at the Olympics, and more importantly the national fervour that met every medal, was seen as one in the eye for Salmond’s Scottish nationalist agenda, the Commonwealths see the constituent parts of the UK compete under their own banners.

Salmond may try to cash in on any Scottish success in Glasgow. But when he tried that at the Olympics he ended up getting booed and, worse, mocked for his attempt to dub Scottish athletes “Scolympians”. At least he’ll know not to try and coin them the Scommonwealth Games.

The gold medal for Olympic booing however went to George Osborne who was roundly jeered when he appeared at the Paralympics. The economy has improved in the two years since but it’s still unlikely the architect of austerity will be welcome in any stadium soon. That same summer Osborne unexpectedly turned up in Munich and outed himself as a Chelsea fan just as they won the Champion’s League.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was also at the showpiece end of season clash. Her presence there gave the Tories the chance to avenge the mockery to which she subjected David Cameron when they watched England’s 2010 World Cup exit together at an international summit.

It’s well known that England only win the World Cup when Labour is in power. No one’s expecting Roy Hodgson’s team to triumph in Brazil for that reason. That and because they are rubbish.

If, by some miracle, England do find form in South America it will present a significant headache for the PM. Once more the Scottish referendum will impact his judgement and he will face a difficult balancing act.

Cheerleading newspapers may call on Cameron to get behind the team and help back them for glory. But that strategy is not without its pitfalls. The image of the Tory PM backing the boys in Brazil will surely only boost the independence campaign.

Football and referendums have a history. There’s a theory Scotland’s failure in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina had significant political fall out. The failure of Ally MacLeod’s men sapped the confidence out of the nation and led directly to the devolution referendum being lost the following year.

Of course by 1990 or 1998 everybody knew that messing up to minnows was just something Scotland do with aplomb at the World Cup. A bit like looking awkward is just something Ed Miliband does. He was recently pictured looking ridiculous doing something as simple as eating a sandwich.

Ed doesn’t strike anyone as a sporty chap. The closest he gets is his boast he can solve a Rubik’s Cube in less than 10 seconds. But there’s no doubt in an election year needs must. So look forward to at least one cringe-worthy photo of Miliband playing or watching sport this summer.

Sometimes sport is an unpredictable business.

Sometimes politics is not.