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David Cameron and Nick Clegg have a stronger partnership than Tony Blair and Gordon Brown did, according to Sir George Young.
In a speech to Parliament last night, the leader of the House of Commons said much of the success of the coalition depended on the personal relationship between its key players.
And he said while Blair and Brown had "different philosophies but joined the same party", Cameron and Clegg had the "same philosophy but joined different parties".
Both parties of government were now trying to replicate the chemistry between their leaders further down the minsterial ladder, he said.
Sir George told the audience in Westminster that the coalition "shouldn't come as a shock" as the Conservatives and Lib Dems had worked closely together while in opposition, picking out his relationship with his now deputy David Heath and that between then shadow defence secretary Liam Fox and his Lib Dem conterpart Nick Harvey.
"The challenge is to convert a political agreement into a effective programme for government," he added.
But he said the "physics is just as important as the chemistry, and said the presence of Lib Dem ministers throughout Whitehall helped cement the coalition.
The creation of a cabinet coalition committee to sort out internal govenrmental disagreements would help keep policy differences from spilling out into the public, he added.
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