The Love That Dare Not Speak It's Name (Or Crosspartyamoreaphilia)

(shuttergeek.com)
This evening (pre watershed because Life on Mars will be on soon ;)), I want to talk of one of the great romantic (and indeed purely sexual)passions that shock, anger, and disgust many people today.
I have noted it for a while, I have even been accused of holding such passions myself. And yesterday, Normblog , alerted us to the latest scandal involving this.
Folks, I want to discuss that passion that upsets and hurts and, nay even excites, many of the people who are involved at some level in politics.
It is when one person (who is a member of a political party), has an affair with another person (who is a member of another political party). There is no word for this, so I suppose I will have to make one up. For want of a better phrase it is "crosspartyamoureaphilia".
I know, it just isn't quite the sexy word it deserves (and if anyone has any better words, preferably completely involving latin and preferably not involving words begining with f, I will be greatful).
But I wonder if this is more widespread than is thought. I mean picture the following scene. Three friends (for the sake of argument, let's say they are Lib Dem activists, because I know that will set most readers pulses racing for a variety of reasons ;) ), spend a weekend in a cottage (Behave yourselves here and please take this at face value!)and on the Sunday morning over breakfast, the conversation turns to political gossip.

JOHN: I don't know which of the candidates to vote for in the forthcoming leadership

PAUL:Well I still think Mark Oaten would be a good leader, but then...

GEORGE: Well I mean, fancy making a fuss about all of that!

JOHN: I will tell you what's disgusting

PAUL: You don't mean...

JOHN: Yeah, Geraldine

GEORGE: What's this!

PAUL: Oh you will be interested!

JOHN: During the count in Taranfirth West on election night...

GEORGE: Yes

JOHN: Well. Well Geraldine was caught in a cupboard by one of the loos.

(Pause)

With a Labour activist

(Struggling to contain himself)

Playing tonsil hockey

PAUL: Disgusting

JOHN: One of them was moaning. "I love it when we argue politics!"

GEORGE: Unnatural

JOHN: All those weeks she helped painstakingly draw bar charts with us. Those days she handed her spare stationery, helped print leaflets showing we were in second place when we were in third, and all along....

(He breaks into tears)

But seriously folks, what are we to make of crosspartyamoreaphillia thingy.
Well the honest answer is I don't know, although I will confess I can see the excitement (although my foray only went as far as slightly fancying Hannah Hedges and getting slated heavily for it. And being warned off Louisa Willoughby simply because I paid a couple of mild compliments (and I have never even met her!) ) That said, I can see the obvious practical reasons, such as concern over the "pillow talk", but so long as both sides (well perhaps only the Labour person, the other partner can talk away to their hearts content ;) ) are sensible and know how to divorce their relationship from their politics (although I appreciate that there must be something exciting about political arguments within a relationship), then there isn't a problem. After all, a lot of us who are members of a party have friends who are in other political parties, and we seem to know how to handle that. Plus perhaps I am biased in that my Dad came from a farming Tory voting family and my Mum from an industrial Labour voting family.
But at the moment, I am more interested in promoting the word crosspartyamoreaphilia. With a wing and a prayer I hope it will be in Wikipedia by the end of the month.