Grewel tapes

The recordings of senior liberals negotiating over the budget vote with a Conservative backbencher are out. They clearly show that a) the PM knew about the negotiations b) the PM was willing to meet with Grewel c) that a cabinet post or some other reward would be granted in exchange for crossing the floor or and abstention.

Paul Wells comments here and Coyne (before the release) here. Unfortunately Damian is probably right in that this doesn't really make much difference.

Update: The reason I don't think it will make much difference is that if you don't already think Martin is lying and the Liberals are corrupt and desperate, nothing will.

But I've also been thinking about the coverage so far. Most media outlets are reporting that the "Conservatives say the tapes show an offer was made", etc, somehow inferring that what's on the tape is open to partisan interpretation.

That's total crap. Either the Liberals made Grewal an implicit offer (abstain or vote with us and you will be rewarded - cabinet is a possibility) or they were just leading him on with false promises. Either way they look crooked.