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Darling's opinion that the economy is in its worst state since the 1930's and that the electorate is "pissed off" with Labour is the most blatant political suicide note I can recall.

Not necessarily for Darling, who will either survive or be seen as a scapegoat if he's sacked, but for PM Gordon Brown.

Does Ed Balls really want to take over as chancellor in these benighted circumstances?

If his chancellor, a long-time Brown loyalist, no longer agrees with him then Brown's chances of mounting an autumn recovery based on his so-called economic expertise are remote.

While this has been going on we've also been regaled with stories that foreign-owned energy companies aren't going to sign up to his plan to sweeten the pill of big fuel bills this winter and the Treasury, his old fiefdom, and the Bank of England are resisting his scheme to underwrite the mortgage market.

So is it goodbye Gordon?

Well it might not be because Labour is clearly so dis-united that they're going to find it hard to choose an alternative leader.

Foreign secretary David Miliband has been rampaging around the Black Sea like a prep-school Palmerston, to the horror of many Labour MPs who think it's about time we stopped waving big sticks and concentrated on what's best for the good old UK (cheaper energy and fewer expensive military adventures).

Jack Straw, who's still the likeliest short-term successor to Brown, has returned from holiday and pronounced his support for Brown. No-one believes it but Straw seems unlikely to line up behind anyone else.

The biggest driver for a change is the majority of Labour MPs who are likely to be out of a job come 2010.

But there are some other factors that will come into play.

The Scottish Nationalists, on current voting trends, are likely to gain 20 plus seats in the next Westminster parliament, assuming Scotland's not independent by then.

The Liberals have rallied under Nick Clegg and, although they're not setting the polls alight, are holding at about 18%. In recent elections they've done better in actual votes than the polls have predicted.

David Cameron's Tories are stuck on 40%, which is a great place to be (it would certainly win a healthy majority) but it seems to be that's their maximum, up to 60% of the voters can't stand them.

So the mother and father of hung parliaments is certainly on the horizon, provided Labour and the other parties claw just a bit back from the Tories.

Media choices will be crucial here -- if one or more newspapers chose to support the Liberal Democrats (the Guardian and the Independent are clearly the most likely) then what looks like a shoo-in for the Tories could turn out to be anything but.

The usually affable David Cameron was asked what his favourite political joke was in a new book recently and he answered, "Nick Clegg".

Clegg is, potentially, his worst nightmare.

Waiting to see how things turn out might just be appealing for embattled Labour MPs, who know they'd be faced by overwhelming calls for an instant General Election if they changed leaders again. By sitting on their hands they get paid for another year, at least.

One think-tanker called this "sleepwalking to disaster" recently. But don't be surprised if they do it.

Politics of the media is a regular series of opinion pieces for Brand Republic about the way media shapes politics and vice-versa. Stephen Foster is a partner at The Editorial Partnership and can be contacted at:steve-edco@blueyonder.co.uk.