It's hard not to be cynical about politicians as the election nears On a recent and particularly shouty edition of the BBC's Question Time, Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, made a striking intervention against the novelist Will Self, who was being even more bitter and twisted than normal. Mr Gove praised his fellow panellist Douglas Alexander, the shadow foreign secretary, as someone he respected, regardless that the pair are in rival parties and have quite different beliefs. There are decent people in government and opposition, he said, who are motivated by notions of public service and improving the country's lot. Quite right. But it really is very difficult to remain positive, in the manner of Bernard Crick, when many other prominent members of the current governing class so frequently behave like a shower of deceitful charlatans. At the weekend, Nick Clegg released extracts from a speech he is making about the Government's policy of introducing free schools - meaning institutions liberated from the dead hand of local authority and union control. Perhaps you disapprove of the policy. I think it is one of the boldest and best of the Coalition's initiatives. Ministers are introducing reforms designed to give more children from poor and modest backgrounds a great education, of the sort Mr Clegg was able to receive at Westminster School because he was lucky enough to have parents who could afford it. But what is not in the slightest doubt is that establishing free schools is a policy that Mr Clegg advocated seemingly enthusiastically and voted for as Deputy Prime Minister. Now, after problems in one school, and with a general election on the way, he has discovered that for the purposes of his party's next manifesto he is an opponent of them all. He objects to the legislation that allows those without teaching qualifications to teach in them, even though he attended one of England's leading public schools, where many bright teachers without such qualifications are employed. Mr Clegg's intervention is so transparent that even other Liberal Democrats can see what he is up to. His pitiful poll ratings need a boost and he hopes to win back disgruntled teachers who may have abandoned his party. The switch in policy also gives him something Left-wing to offer Labour in the event of negotiations after the 2015 election. Any uncertainty and upset caused to pupils or parents involved with existing free schools is merely collateral damage in the great game of coalition, as ministers battle to keep hold of their chauffeur-driven cars and other perks of office. It is not just the Lib Dems who are playing games. Having been enthusiastic advocates of green taxes, back when the Cameroons were attempting to "detoxify" the Tory party, the Conservatives now discover that energy price rises are deeply unpopular. Spooked by Ed Miliband's offer of a freeze, the Tories suggest that they want to crack down on the very green taxes that they voted for. Of course, the Lib Dems will not let the Tories axe taxes aimed at tackling climate change, any more than the Tories will let Mr Clegg rewrite the free schools policy. Both parties are merely posturing and positioning, so that they can claim they put up a fight in coalition on subjects that certain voters care about. On the question of energy prices, Labour has been even more shameless than the Tories. Despite having been energy secretary in the last government, when he introduced green levies and did nothing to reform the energy market, Ed Miliband now complains about the results of his own policies. As Labour leader, his answer is a populist freeze that it will be impossible to implement without cutting off much-needed investment in energy. It is student politics - with overtones of rent strikes and protests - brought to the national stage. But get used to it. The hollowing out of the major parties in recent decades, their decline as serious forces with roots in their communities, the rise of Ukip in the shires on a tide of anger, and the elevation of a new professional leadership class have combined to produce the politics of permanent coalition. It involves endless shape-shifting and deal-making for party and personal advantage. Even press freedom, cherished in this country for centuries, can be bartered away by the various sides as they try to improve their position ahead of an election, the result of which will probably involve another coalition. What matters most in such circumstances is setting yourself up for the negotiations to come. At the moment, the only bold vision, other than Nigel Farage's policy on withdrawal from the EU, is the one advocated by the Chancellor and the Mayor of London, both newly returned from China. Unfortunately, the plan seems to rest on selling off the UK to the Chinese. As a route to national revival it is not remotely appealing. In time, surely Boris can do better. Perhaps David Cameron, too, might try harder while he remains Prime Minister. For the leader who can cut through the grotesque game‑playing and offer a compelling vision for the country might actually win an election and vindicate Crick's claim that politics is worth defending after all.