Political jockeying has begun in Britain after Thursday's tight but inconclusive general election, with no party winning an outright parliamentary majority. The Conservative Party secured the most parliamentary seats, the incumbent Labor Party came in second and both are now reaching out to the third party, the Liberal Democrats to form a possible governing coalition.
With no party winning a parliamentary majority, the sitting prime minister gets the first chance to try to put together a government. Gordon Brown made an offer to the Liberal Democrats to talk his Labor Party about a coalition, saying a future stable government is crucial.
"I understand as I know my fellow party leaders do, that people do not like the uncertainty or want it to be prolonged. We live, however, in a parliamentary democracy. The outcome has been delivered by the electorate. It is our responsibility now to make it work for the national good," Mr. Brown said.
Mr. Brown's Labor Party took a beating in the elections, losing parliamentary seats and coming in second.
Conservative Party leader David Cameron also offered to forge an alliance with Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats.
"I want to make a big, open, comprehensive offer to the Liberal Democrats. I want us to work together in tackling our county's big and urgent problems - the debt crisis, our deep social problems and our broken political system," Cameron stated.
Earlier in the day Nick Clegg said he thought the Conservatives should be allowed to try to form a government. "Which ever party gets the most votes and the most seats, if not an absolute majority, has the first right to seek to govern either on its own or by reaching out to other parties," Clegg explained.
The question for the Liberal Democrats is now whether they can work with either of the two other parties and at what cost.
Gordon Brown offered up a referendum on vote reform, which is a mainstay of the Liberal Democrats platform and said he felt there is agreement on ways to further economic stability. Mr. Cameron made what he called a "comprehensive offer" to the Liberal Democrats, offering some concessions, but stopping short of endorsing their demands for vote reform.
The coming days will likely be filled with political negotiations to see who in the end forms the next government and who becomes prime minister.
