WITH only two months until the general election, a welcome realism is entering the proceedings.
It was evident at yesterday's Scottish Labour conference in Edinburgh, where Ed Miliband and Jim Murphy tried to present May 7 as a straight fight between Labour and the Conservatives.
While its accuracy is questionable, it was a pitch which tacitly acknowledged that if Scots voters were offered a choice tomorrow between Labour and the SNP, Labour would lose.
Hence the framing of the election as between Labour and Tory, a fight Labour could win.
There was also realism in Miliband and Murphy's decision to avoid attacks on the SNP, and their equally striking failure to rule out a post-election pact with them.
Ordinarily, a Scottish Labour conference consists of little else but diatribes against Nationalism.
But not this time.
This time, Labour knows the polls point to a fragile hung parliament and it needs to play nice to keep its options open.
Murphy even complimented Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon on their pride in Scotland.
There is also a more realistic approach from the SNP, with Nicola Sturgeon edging back from removal of Trident being a red line issue in any negotiations.
Instead the First Minister's handily ambiguous mantra is that a strong group of SNP MPs would make Labour "think again" on Trident, which is not the same as saying it's a deal-breaker.
Likewise, the SNP's emphasis on "moving away" from austerity, which does not commit the party to hard numbers or timescales.
Some may dismiss this footsie between the parties as standard, cynical politics.
But it is simply how alliances are founded and secured.
Power in a democracy is always a compromise.
The latest poll from Lord Ashcroft, which showed a massive swing to the SNP even in No voting areas, has contributed to the new realism.
It indicates a SNP-Labour deal to put Miliband into Downing Street is a highly credible outcome of the election.
David Cameron and the Conservatives unsurprisingly say it would be the "worst outcome".
It might be for the Tories, but not for Scotland.
This newspaper believes it could be highly advantageous, giving the SNP the clout to expand Holyrood's powers in return for rolling support for a Labour minority government.
It would not be a simple or easy arrangement to sell to the rest of the UK.
It could well be uncomfortable for SNP supporters.
It would also take long and tough negotiations if the SNP are to avoid the fate of the LibDems, who sold themselves short in a rushed few days of talks they have rued ever since.
But with realism and caution, it could open an extraordinary chapter for Scotland and the UK.
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