London--Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg set out the Liberal Democrats' general election pitch on Wednesday, promising to be an anchor in another coalition government.
"The Liberal Democrats will add a heart to a Conservative government and we will add a brain to a Labour one," Clegg said as he launched the party's manifesto for the May 7 vote.
The centrist Lib Dems are the junior partners to Prime Minister David Cameron's centre-right Conservatives in the outgoing coalition government.
Polls predict Clegg's Liberals could lose around half their seats -- but they may retain enough to hold the balance of power once again.
Clegg tried to position the Lib Dems as the best of both worlds between the Conservatives and Ed Miliband's centre-left main opposition Labour Party.
"Most people want a stronger economy and a fairer society and they're fed up of having to choose one or the other. This manifesto proves you don't need to," he said.
Clegg said either Cameron or Miliband would become prime minister, but neither could secure a majority in parliament.
"So what really matters is who they will have by their side," the 48-year-old said.
He raised the prospect of the left-wing Scottish nationalists working with Labour, the populist United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) working with the Conservatives.
AFP
