On polling day itself, the worst unemployment figures for 30 years were announced. But if Mr Hague draws comfort from this, it is difficult to see what comparable bad economic news is lying in wait to trap Gordon Brown. Unemployment, inflation and interest rates seem to be set fair - and falling. The March jobless figures may drop below 1m for the first time since 1975. In search of the silver lining for Mr Hague, pollsters tend to point to three factors.
Voters are nowadays more volatile.
Voters are also less loyal to class or party. The sudden fuel crisis last Autumn culminated with Labour trailing the Tories in two polls. But this turn-around evaporated, as rapidly as it appeared, something that still confuses Labour as much as the Tories. Frustratingly for Mr Hague, polls also repeatedly show voters stubbornly do not blame Mr Blair for many public ills. He has been undamaged by floods, rail disasters, the dome or the loss of Peter Mandelson.