Charles Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat leader in waiting, successor to Paddy, was the baby of the House of Commons when he became Social Democrat Party MP for Ross, Cromarty and Skye at the age of 23 in 1983 before the party eventually merged with the Liberal Democrats. Sixteen years after his maiden speech, the Liberal Democrats will elect their new leader to succeed Paddy Ashdown.
Remember Paddy? He of the "Action Man" persona, against whom Kennedy has been portrayed by his critics as the "Inaction Man" - lazy, likes a drink or two and loves David Bowie. These accusations are founded in his likeness for appearing on satirical game shows - Have I Got News For You and The News Quiz - rather than the usual political stamping ground of Newsnight and Question Time. Even his colleagues have voiced their doubts about his style - Kennedy seemed too frivolous, found it hard to get up in the morning and was more likely to be found hosting a radio phone-in show than walking the corridors of power at Westminster.
One story that best illustrates their concerns was when the Sun revealed that Kennedy had won £2,000 after he bet £50 that the Liberal Democrats would win only two seats in the European elections in 1994. Shortly after, Kennedy completed his term as president of the party and was appointed spokesman for rural affairs, where he has languished ever since.
That may soon change. "His time will come," Clement Freud once commented in The Times, and on Monday, when the 90,000 Liberal Democrat votes are finally tallied up, the Kennedy camp will probably be cheering. The public may not yet know very much about this man, but there is a view that he has carefully played on the garrulous image in order to launch a steelier ambition in office.
Political observers believe that he will be "like Prince Hal in Henry IV Part I, casting off the unpolitical Bardolphs and media Falstaffs" as he prepares for one of the most "thankless tasks in politics". Smoothing over party fears about "Lib-Labbery"' will be one of his first tasks, although he has indicated that he will continue Ashdown's "project" if he becomes leader.
The more radical elements in the party, suspicious of closer ties with Labour - including two of the leadership candidates, Jackie Ballard and Kennedy's closest rival, Simon Hughes - have found little comfort in Kennedy's fudging of the Lib-Lab line. Mr Ashdown may be relieved that his project seems intact, but on occasion Kennedy has blurred his position, saying: "Paddy was much keener on co-operation with New Labour than I am. I would definitely be more cautious."
He is keen, though, on bringing Britain into the European single currency. "I am a straight down the line pro-European, unashamedly so. It is important that Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Kenneth Clarke and the leader of the Lib Dems are all singing from the same pro-Euro hymn sheet. Our leader needs to be in the forefront of that process."
He has admitted that his greatest political regret was the betting incident. He has readily come forward and held up his hand when he has made a mistake and it is one of his strengths as a politician.
"I wasn't betting against the party," he said in a Guardian interview. "It was in line with what I'd publicly predicted. Looking back it's funny now, but it was embarrassing at the time. If I could change one walk with destiny, I wouldn't walk to the bookies on that particular occasion. You live and learn."
One of his more politically astute decisions came in the aftermath of the 1987 general election when he was the first SDP MP to defy the party leader, David Owen, and opt for a merger with the Liberal Democrats. He had initially planned to vote for the leadership's option of closer ties with the Lib Dems, but when he sounded out Dr Owen and realised he would never join a merged party, he broke with the leadership and voted for the merger.
According to the SDP's historians, Kennedy's decision was due to the fact "he had had too much drink over lunch", yet his fellow MPs soon followed him into the arms of the Liberal Democrats.
Despite the doubts, his notoriously gregarious character is sure to win him a solid following on the hustings. Some say the LibLab "line" may come back to haunt him, but in the run-up to the leadership result on Monday his comments in a recent interview showed he hasn't lost his sense of humour.
Negotiating a photo opportunity, he said: "What you should have is a picture of me sound asleep on the steps, that would suit the image, with a fag in my hand, sunglasses, an empty bottle of wine. Comatose."