LONDON, Aug. 15 (Saba) -- British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said on Sunday that the new coalition government should be judged on its long-term effect, not on its first 100 days in office, according to Xinhua.

Clegg, who becomes in effect acting prime minister in the coming week as David Cameron goes away for his annual vacation with his family in the southwest of England, put up a solid defense for the government in which his Liberal Democrat Party is the junior partner.

Clegg told weekly newspaper "The Observer": "All new governments claim that they are governing for the long term. As this new coalition government approaches its first 100 days in office, I believe the claim is a strong one: we will govern for the long term and we'll stick to our plan."

The coalition was formed on May 11, in the wake of the inconclusive May 6 general election which saw the ruling Labor party lose a general election for the first time since 1997.

However, although Cameron's Conservative Party was the largest party in the House of Commons, it did not have enough members of parliament (MPs) to form a majority government and had to seek a coalition with the Liberal Democrats.

Clegg defended the coalition government as a more rigorous way to develop policy. He said: "A coalition can only work if it is upfront about the differences between the two parties and explicit about the partnership it is seeking to create. It requires collective decision-making and a high level of candor as two different parties seek to govern together."

"That is what our painstakingly negotiated program for coalition government was all about: a five-year plan for government based on a clear understanding of our differences and the nature of our collective strength," he said. "So we have had a much more radical first 100 days than conventional wisdom predicted, confounding the myth that compromising on policies means you are left with a bland, cautious mush, the common denominator approach."

According to Clegg, the radical policies include boosting patient power and local democratic accountability in the National Health Service, more freedom to parents, teachers and communities in the school system, and steps toward political reform and a fairer tax system.

Clegg has come under criticism from the left of his party which resents the compromises in policy which the coalition government has led to. During the general election campaign the Liberal Democrats had campaigned against an increase in Value Added Tax, a sales tax, and had opposed starting cuts in government spending immediately for fear of endangering the recovery.

Both are now the coalition government's policy, with Clegg and his government ministers saying circumstances have changed.

However some Liberal Democrats have left the party, and support has fallen in opinion polls.

In daily YouGov (a leading polling organization) polls the Liberal Democrats are polling 13-15 percent this month, substantially down on the 23-percent support at the general election just three months ago.

In contrast, support for their majority coalition partner, the Conservative party, has strengthened since the general election.

However, Clegg said the government aimed to serve for its full five-year term, and it could properly be judged then.

"We have to play the long game," said Clegg, because "the depth of the economic difficulties we have inherited from Labor means there are no short-term fixes. The size of the deficit means that whichever party or parties had come into government would have to face short-term unpopularity in order to restore long-term success to our economy."

Clegg said further deep unpopularity with the electorate over policies was certain, with the size and shape of government budget cuts, which in some departments could be 40 percent over the next four years, set to be announced in an autumn spending review.

Saba