I looked at him sourly because I had spent a restless night, and not the kind of restless night he evidently had in mind. I said, ‘Why so cheerful?’

‘Seen the Chronicle?’ He tossed it on the breakfast table. ‘Things are starting to jump.’

I picked up the newspaper and shook the folds out. The headline slammed at me and I began to smile. My sour mood vanished and I felt a pulse of excitement. ‘What is it?’ asked Leotta.

I held up the newspaper so she could see the headline: ‘McKITTRICK GOES LIB!’

‘He’s done it,’ I said. ‘So that’s what John meant.’

‘Who is John?’ asked Negrini.

‘McKittrick’s grandfather.’

I scanned the story, which led off:

In a dramatic move yesterday, Dr Jacob McKittrick broke with Joe Hawke and the People’s Party to return to the fold of the Campanillan Liberal Party. He is now expected to defend the seat of North End, currently vacant due to the recent death of David Salton.

Leaders of the CLP unanimously welcomed the move at a meeting yesterday. A reshuffle is expected to take place in the upper echelons of the party hierarchy, with Dr McKittrick tipped for a role in Cabinet if the Liberals win the election. Some rumours suggest he could even be in line for the Premiership.

Following the announcement last night, Dr McKittrick wasted no time in laying out his political agenda, including the promise of a complete overhaul of the police force. He also launched a scathing attack on his former colleagues, claiming: ‘The citizens of this country are being misled by the demagogues of the People’s Party. I know because I watched it happen. I was there. Joe Hawke wants to lead Campanilla along the road to revolution – but it’s the road to hell, poverty and ruin.’

He pledged full allegiance to the policies of the CLP and, in a moving tribute to the late leader of the opposition, admitted: ‘There was a time when I disagreed with the ideas of David Salton. But I was wrong and David Salton was right. I believe he was the greatest man this nation has produced, and I commit myself unreservedly to the realisation of his political plans.’

Dr McKittrick’s dramatic switch took onlookers by surprise and is sure to transform the political landscape just weeks before a critical election. The walkover that was predicted for the Conservative Party after the death of Mr Salton now looks far from certain.

In an exclusive interview with the Chronicle, Dr McKittrick said: ‘I think the CLP has a good chance of winning – maybe not the chance it had when David Salton was alive, but a good chance nevertheless. If Mr Conyers wants to remain Prime Minister and to continue to mismanage the economy, he will have to fight harder than he has fought in his life.’