Proclaiming the end of tribal politics in Britain, Mr Paddy Ashdown has urged Liberal Democrats to claim the "real prizes" which come from participation in "real politics".
He used his keynote speech to the Liberal Democrats conference in Eastbourne to hammer home his belief that compromises with the government of Mr Tony Blair offered the only way ahead for his party, even as it celebrated the unrivalled post-war electoral success which had given it 46 MPs in the House of Commons.
After days of agonising about the ever-closer relationship between their party and the Labour government, Mr Ashdown told delegates he as much as they would find compromise painful. "But because this is real politics, there will be real prizes to be won. The more we agree, the greater the chance that reform will succeed. The more we disagree, the greater the likelihood that it will fail."
In a carefully-crafted speech, Mr Ashdown sought to assure activists that the party's distinct and radical identity was safe in his hands. He renewed his criticism of Mr Blair's commitment to live within Tory spending limits for the next two years, warning of crises to come in the Health Service and in Britain's classrooms.
He also sought to place himself at the head of the reforming agenda, issuing a powerful challenge to Mr Tony Blair to make an early decision to join the European Single Currency and to put the issue to a referendum as early as next year. In similar vein, Mr Ashdown claimed the recent victories in the Scottish and Welsh referendums were the vindication of a 100-year Liberal crusade.
But it was that spirit of change which lay at the heart of Mr Ashdown's trenchant defence of his strategy of "constructive opposition" to New Labour. He warned his colleagues against any tendency to play safe: "Complacency, self-satisfaction, timidity. . .these are the traps. An excessive concern for our own purity. . .a natural desire for a quiet life."
That approach, he said, would reduce the Liberal Democrats to a historical footnote. He was, he said, determined that would not happen "because I know that, if we have the courage to take risks, the gains we win for our country could be immense".
Declaring that he accepted "no glass ceilings" for his party, and promising them that "the best is yet to come", Mr Ashdown declared: "I will recommend to you risks whenever I believe that, by taking them, we have a chance of delivering the things which up to now we have only been able to dream about."
At the same time Mr Ashdown urged Mr Blair to take potentially the greatest risk of all by declaring a strong commitment to join the Single European Currency, and his intention to have that decision ratified by the people, in a referendum next year. And he argued for that declaration of intent even if Britain was not to join in the first wave in January 1999.