The wait is almost over. On Thursday, the campaign will come to an end and the British public will be asked to choose. They will choose their MPs, their government and their Prime Minister. The leaders of the three main parties are all aspiring to take the keys of number 10 on Friday. All three have campaigned tirelessly, debated intensely and presented themselves as the best suited for the job. However, there is a possibility that Britain's next Prime Minister will not be one of the three present leaders.
Six hundred and fifty MPs will have to be elected and, depending on the proportion of seats won by each party, a government will be formed and a Prime Minister elected. The Queen will ask the person who enjoys the support of the majority of the House of Commons to become Prime Minister. In a situation where a party wins an overall majority (326 seats or more), the leader of the winning party will be asked to take the job. In the event of a hung Parliament, the Queen will initially ask the incumbent to try and form a government. If the incumbent fails, the Queen may ask another person whom she feels could enjoy the support of the majority of the House.
The opinion polls are still suggesting a hung Parliament, in which case the support of the Liberal Democrats will be sought by whichever party attempts to form a government.
Nick Clegg, the Lib Dems' leader, has already declared he would not support Gordon Brown to become Prime Minister if Labour finishes third in the popular vote. There is a good possibility that Labour will, in fact, be overtaken by the Lib Dems in the popular vote. If this had to happen and if David Cameron fails to win an overall majority, Mr Clegg may offer his party's support to Labour on condition that Mr Brown will not be Prime Minister. Labour will then have to take two important decisions: whether to remove Mr Brown and if they decide on removing him they will have to elect somebody to take his place.
If Labour decides on removing Mr Brown, the three likely contenders for his post will be David Milliband, the Foreign Secretary, his brother Ed and Alan Johnson, the Home Office Secretary. If, on the other hand, Labour decides against removing Mr Brown, Mr Clegg might experiment a coalition with Mr Cameron.
Talk of a hung Parliament intensified following the first leaders' debate when Mr Clegg's support instantly shot up by 10 percentage points. According to the latest opinion polls, the Lib Dems will probably increase their share of seats as will do the Conservatives. The question remains: How many of Labour's seats will they win? Apart from winning seats from Labour, the Conservatives need to win a number of seats previously held by the Lib Dems to secure an overall majority. If the polls are right and if the surge in the Lib Dems support is experienced nationally, the Tories may find it hard to overturn results in Lib Dems constituencies. This may hinder the Tories' chances of obtaining an absolute majority in the House.
Mr Cameron is still hopeful of becoming Britain's Premier. His performance in the final leaders' debate was outstanding and he showed that he is ready to take the mantle from Mr Brown. There is no doubt that the Tories will win the majority of the popular vote, but because of the pro-Labour bias in the way constituencies are carved, Mr Cameron needs at least eight per cent more votes than Labour to win an outright majority.
A week in politics is an eternity and anything can happen until Thursday. Mr Cameron has more work to do to win 326 seats to become the Queen's automatic choice. Mr Brown did not have the best of weeks these past days but he too is hoping for a miracle and stay in office. However, as things stand today, Mr Clegg could be the one holding the key. One thing is sure, it will take more than a miracle for him to open the door of number 10 on Friday morning.