Christine Jardine considers… What next?
Sometimes stepping back for a moment, and not thinking about an issue, can give you a whole new perspective on it.
This is, I believe, one of those moments for the party.
In the brief, frantic, space between the election result and Christmas it sometimes felt as if we were continuing to hurtle at the same uncontrollable pace which had propelled us into the election.
Before any work had been done to work out what had gone wrong there was, it seemed an almost reckless determination to launch ourselves into a new leadership contest.
Too soon, for me, in so many ways.
Yes, I am one of those who has been asked the question.
And no, I haven't given a definitive answer.
But now, having had time over Christmas to get some perspective I think the answer we should all be yelling from Parliament is: "Not yet."
Not, at least, until the party has had time to consider how, and whether, we need to change
And then there is the need to focus on the May elections
In the less than three years that I have been elected the party has had three leaders: Tim Farron, Vince Cable and Jo Swinson.
Now we are looking for our fourth.
Its less than five months since we all left Bournemouth buoyed by the optimism of the then new leader's speech in front of an enthusiastic audience which included a still growing group of MPs.
There was widespread belief that the election, whenever it came, would be a pivotal moment in the party's, and the country's future.
And so it was. But not in the way we expected.
We have now had three elections in four years which have confounded everyone's expectations and predictions.
If we do not take the time now to discover exactly why that is, we are likely to simply repeat any mistakes.
Whoever the next leader is, they must not be handicapped from the start by the uncertainty of unresolved issues.
The party must be sure both that this is the person who will have the popular support beyond the membership to gain the confidence of an understandably cynical electorate, and that they have the structure they need to support them.
And it's crucial that it shouldn't get in the way of the local elections. That must be our focus: those councillors and candidates who have worked so hard deserve the best, and undivided, support we can give them.
Ed Davey as interim leader has stepped into the breech to work with the President in guiding us through the immediate aftermath and the General Election Review.
They are to be allowed the time and space to focus on that to make sure we go into May with a strong campaign that has learned the lessons 2019 has to offer.
We have four years to rebuild for the next General Election. Let's use them wisely.
* Christine Jardine is the Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West