A hearty Happy New Year to you. Now, as you drag your over-stuffed turkey and Christmas pudding laden bodies back to work (and let’s not forget the gym) there is much to look forward to. I am not of course that sadistic to be alluding to further economic woe or possible war in the Middle East, but in fact 2012, a year of two splendidly exquisite elections, promises to be the Year of the Political Junkie!

Not only do we have the engrossing spectacle ahead with what has already been dubbed the most important, most dramatic US Presidential contest in recent times, but back here in London, we have a gladiatorial battle for the Mayoralty, with Ken Livingstone pitching his vision against Boris Johnson’s in an epic rematch. I know, can it get any better than this? No, it really can’t.

If you’re still with me, I thought I would use this article to wet the appetite…

Firstly, over in the US, the Republicans are in the midst of choosing their nominee to take on the biggest rock star politician of our time, Barack Obama. This is a man who ran the most scintillatingly inspirational and effective campaign back in 2008. This is a man who had not even completed one term in the Senate, had never been an executive and had accomplished little legislatively. Despite all of this, Obama was able to use the power of his stirring oratory and personality to first of all beat the Clinton machine in the primaries, and then convince his fellow Americans that the time had come to elect the first black President of the United States over the experienced and wily Vietnam War veteran Senator McCain.

Four years into his Presidency, things have not exactly gone to plan for President Obama. Sure, he came into office at a time of extreme economic disarray. Unfortunately, many of the policies enacted by his administration to combat a failing economy have not been viewed favourably by the American public. Indeed, huge stimuli were applied at the cost of hundreds of billions of dollars, and largely they have been ineffective with unemployment floundering at or above 9%, a figure that no US President has ever been re-elected at. Furthermore, at a time when Americans wanted their President to boost jobs, his administration spent a year enacting a wildly controversial and divisive Health Care bill into law, aiming to provide more cover for the uninsured. Candidate Obama proffered a uniting message and spoke often of the necessity for bipartisanship in Washington, yet the mucky confrontations over Health Care in 2009, and of course the Debt Ceiling issue in 2011 have left President Obama looking ineffective, aloof from the concerns of ordinary Americans, and attracting the label of incompetent (remember the administration’s response to the Gulf oil spill).

The Republicans, for their part have been hammering the President on all of the above and more. They like to paint him as a weak President, of the Jimmy Carter ilk. In particular, they argue this charge in respect of his approach to foreign policy, notably the Arab Spring and the Libyan campaign, citing his willingness to take a back seat and promote the involvement of allies. However, it will be fascinating to see how the Republicans react to the President’s ace card, the fact that under his watch Osama Bin Laden was taken out. It would seem a fool’s errand for the eventual nominee to stick to the argument that Obama is weak, when he acted without hesitation in relation to Bin Laden and also in ending the war in Iraq, which is a policy he touted he would fulfil in the ’08 election.

In Iowa this week, Republicans have kicked off their nominating contest, and I would put my money (and dare I say eat my hat) if the former Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney is not their eventual nominee. Romney, as the GOP standard bearer has some serious strengths. He has an extensive executive background in business and as a governor of a state where he grew jobs and lowered taxes. Yet, Romney also has some serious weaknesses. He has a long history of flip-flopping on a whole host of issues, from abortion and climate change, to running for the Senate in 1994 to the left of the liberal Senator Ted Kennedy. Most worrying for Romney, however, is that he enacted Health Care law in his own state which was then utilised for Obama’s signature Health Care initiative. If and how he rails against Obamacare with his own record lurking in the background will truly prove how fleet-footed his affiliation for the truth really is.

After a whirlwind take on US politics, allow me to postulate for the briefest of moments on London 2012. No, not the Olympics, although my excitement for that sporting event is approaching equally epic proportions. In May of 2008, the election of Boris Johnson brought (what we wishfully thought) an end to eight years of Labour’s Ken Livingstone as Mayor. In what he had termed the “last job” he would do in politics, Red Ken clearly could not countenance the thought of walking away into the sunset of political retirement. In effect, he has spent the last four years performing a crude likeness of Johnson’s shadow, by taking to the airwaves to opine on how his Conservative successor was doing and even sitting in on Mayor’s Question Time. As soon as he departed City Hall, Mr Livingstone has been plotting his political resurgence.

In my opinion, the forthcoming May election promises to be close, very close, with no punches pulled on either side. As Mayor, Johnson has made forceful arguments on the economy, housing and immigration, much of which has been divergent to the messages propounded by the Coalition government. He has proved himself to be his own man, independent minded and willing to set aside party loyalty in the interests of London. The public, for their part, have responded by viewing him favourably both personally and in carrying out his duties. However, with a national economy that has effectively stalled and government cuts which are only just starting to bite, Labour and Ken Livingstone must believe that if they can tie Boris Johnson to the Tory brand and successfully blur the distinction between national and London issues, then they will be in a strong position to take the Mayoralty back. Back in ’08, the race was a squeaker even with Labour in the doldrums electorally. In 2012, Livingstone will hope to benefit from a traditional Labour leaning inner London whilst reaching out to the moral rural areas which rejected him so emphatically last time out. The most recent policy clash related to the cost of transport and Ken’s “Fare Deal” for London. The question remains whether London voters feel a change in Mayor is what London needs. I, for one, can’t wait.

Let the campaigns begin!