Mighty oaks from little acorns grow — so the old saying goes — and a broad swathe of Left-wing activists are poised to breathe new life into it. This, they believe, is their moment.
You might think the British Left would be a bit downhearted after the local elections, which were terrible for the Tories but suggested Labour would still struggle to win an overall majority come the General Election. But not a bit of it.
They see the prospect of a hung Parliament as prelude to a much bigger prize than merely another Labour government: the chance to install and enshrine Left-of-centre government for the foreseeable future — consigning the Tories to the political wilderness for at least a generation, perhaps for ever.
Heady stuff. You can understand why the Left is excited. But how could it come about? Easy. Labour emerges from the next Election the largest party but without an overall majority.
It turns to the Liberal Democrats for a working majority. The Lib Dems say: 'OK but only if you commit to future elections based on proportional representation.' Labour agrees. Future government would then be the monopoly of various permutations of Left-wing parties, involving Labour, the Lib Dems, the Greens and nationalist parties.