Eurosceptic Conservative MP says Lib Dem leader is more politically motivated than prime minister
Having earned the ire of his own party's rank-and-file on one side and disgruntled Conservative backbenchers on the other, it seems that Nick Clegg's conduct under fire has won himself at least one unlikely new fan.
Norman Tebbit, an important figure among the Eurosceptic Tory grassroots, has proclaimed that he harbours more admiration for the europhile Liberal Democrat leader than David Cameron.
"I think he has pushed his agenda quite hard," the former trade and industry secretary – who was famously caricatured by Spitting Image as Margaret Thatcher's enforcer-in-chief – said when asked which of the coalition party leaders he admired most. "I think Clegg is probably more politically motivated than Cameron."
Tebbit made the comments in an interview with the Daily Telegraph in which he returned to one of his favoured retirement pastimes: berating the current Tory leadership.
Or, as the peer described them: "David Cameron and the bloody tieless and gormless lot."
Perhaps inevitably, other targets included the 'big society', which he described as just a "buzzword" and "a logo looking for a product".
Damning the Conservative leader as without any discernible political convictions, Tebbit said: "I'm not sure what he believes in. Let me put it tactfully like that."
"David was more concerned about being prime minister than what he was going to do as prime minister," he added. "I think that's the heart of it."
On Libya at least, Tebbit was willing to advance some credit to the prime minister, expressing some admiration for Cameron's role in paving the way for the UN resolution that initiated a no-fly zone.
However, he added: "Whether it was wise to do so is another matter. I have the gravest doubt that what follows Gaddafi will be sweetness and light."
He also described moves towards war as "thoughtless", adding: "Sometimes one has to ignore the call of 'do something' in favour of sitting down and working out what it is that needs to be done."
Tebbit said that he disagreed with Thatcher on the US bombing of Libya in 1986 because she agreed to the US using bases in the UK without first consulting the cabinet.