Politics!
There. I said it...pleugh...
Exit left, the chancellor that became the PM that didn't win a general election.
I once read that we 'get the leaders we deserve' which is a fair observation, as we are all products of our time. Is it the party or the image portrayed by a party leader, that floating voters(like me*) decided on?
An American friend of mine(see Aaron's comment - 3rd down) is perturbed by what he's read and seen regarding the recent general election. I can see why he would feel that the UK is a foreign land to him. The political system in the UK is very out of date and steeped in rhetoric and doesn't feel generic to the land or people.
Maybe this coalition government can, if nothing else, make politics in the UK relevant to the general populous and stir them from a coma-like existence.
*yes, I did vote.
In most other European countries coalition governments are the norm so it is hard for us to understand Britain's apparent fear of the model. I have lived under single party governments and coalition governments and I can say that one works just as well as the other. Neither is a panacea against incompetent politicians but at least a coalition government reduces the tendencies towards corruption. One downside of a coalition of unequal partners though is that the smaller party always suffers. If the government screws up (and don't they all) the electorate will blame the smaller party for not keeping an eye on their bigger partners. If the government gets it right then you can be sure the bigger party will grab all the credit.
ReplyDeleteReduction in corruption is something modern politics needs to address quickly & it will interesting to see how the new government fair for the rest of the year.
ReplyDeleteI think it very shrewd that Nick Clegg has got himself the deputy PM post and can see him 'stealing' at least a little credit when deserved.
Do I understand it correctly that the Irish have yet to have a recent General Election?
I was responding to this article and my concern was Steyn's assertion that "Britain will end up with a leader who didn't participate in the leaders' debates, presiding over a coalition that wasn't on the ballot, implementing a platform no party ran on...". It's not the idea of a coalition government which disturbs me, but the idea that British voters are being denied their power to elect representatives.
ReplyDeleteI'm not one who believes the governments of all nations should operate the same way. But I do believe there's trouble when a government's actions do not agree with its laws.
@Aaron I could have made that a little bit clearer in the post - I'll put a note in the post to refer to your explanation.
ReplyDeleteI think we can see that there are some very different ways that British and American politics can differ, in the administration of parties into power. Truly, there should have been a general election when Mr Brown took over from Blair as PM which does echo your own concerns.