https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJqgk2XAg4k
Jack Bruce and Pete Brown song came to mind in the aftermath of the UK General Election this past week. Normally I do not let my political views to color neither my poetry nor my postings. Granted, the keen reader who knows me will detect evidence of some of what I think.
A few friends on Facebook and of course elsewhere have criticized the "first past the post" electoral system.First the Liberals, and now the Lib Dems, Greens, and UKIP have joined the chorus. Certainly they have a point; each party receives a considerable percentage of total votes cast, and together they amass several million votes.
From my American perspective, Proportional Representation might not be to the UKs advantage. (I am no fan of our Electoral College, as anyone who was around earshot of me from November 2000 through February 2001 can confirm). My thoughts stem from the dysfunctional US Congress, with Democrats and Republicans and only one Independent in the Senate, who caucuses with the Democrats.
There was a time when Democrats and Republicans argued vehement in session, and then met for drinks and golf later. They actually could be friends with each other. Not since New Gingrich became Speaker of the House in 1994!
Imagine, if you will, UKIP's 12% vote share giving them 67 MPs, the Lib Dems 8% evolving into 50 (nearly what they had going into the General Election(, and the SNP's 5% given them about 25.
The resulting chaos in Westminster would be colorful in more ways than one, as two or three parties would need to form a coalition, which would be broken, then reformed.....
Soon there would be a situation like Italy's, with numerous governments. When I was in Rome in Summer of 1973, the government fell and no one noticed much. By then they were adept at the whole thing.
Across the Channel and then some, Germany has it's Grosse Koalition of CSU/CDU and SPD. These parties are not close to each other, but they make it work and keep Europe's largest economy going steadily along.
For some reason the last line from the immortal Fawlty Towers episode, "The Germans" comes to mind: "How did they ever win the war?"
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2015/may/07/live-uk-election-results-in-full
Jack Bruce and Pete Brown song came to mind in the aftermath of the UK General Election this past week. Normally I do not let my political views to color neither my poetry nor my postings. Granted, the keen reader who knows me will detect evidence of some of what I think.
A few friends on Facebook and of course elsewhere have criticized the "first past the post" electoral system.First the Liberals, and now the Lib Dems, Greens, and UKIP have joined the chorus. Certainly they have a point; each party receives a considerable percentage of total votes cast, and together they amass several million votes.
From my American perspective, Proportional Representation might not be to the UKs advantage. (I am no fan of our Electoral College, as anyone who was around earshot of me from November 2000 through February 2001 can confirm). My thoughts stem from the dysfunctional US Congress, with Democrats and Republicans and only one Independent in the Senate, who caucuses with the Democrats.
There was a time when Democrats and Republicans argued vehement in session, and then met for drinks and golf later. They actually could be friends with each other. Not since New Gingrich became Speaker of the House in 1994!
Imagine, if you will, UKIP's 12% vote share giving them 67 MPs, the Lib Dems 8% evolving into 50 (nearly what they had going into the General Election(, and the SNP's 5% given them about 25.
The resulting chaos in Westminster would be colorful in more ways than one, as two or three parties would need to form a coalition, which would be broken, then reformed.....
Soon there would be a situation like Italy's, with numerous governments. When I was in Rome in Summer of 1973, the government fell and no one noticed much. By then they were adept at the whole thing.
Across the Channel and then some, Germany has it's Grosse Koalition of CSU/CDU and SPD. These parties are not close to each other, but they make it work and keep Europe's largest economy going steadily along.
For some reason the last line from the immortal Fawlty Towers episode, "The Germans" comes to mind: "How did they ever win the war?"
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2015/may/07/live-uk-election-results-in-full
No comments:
Post a Comment