More Room For You And More Room For Me
My complete political nerditry is something that only really kicked in when I moved to the US; I’m not sure whether it was genuine interest in the then-current 2004 Presidential Elections (which were being held as Kate and I were flying home for my mother’s funeral; I remember the odd mix of sadness and anticipation, getting off the plane in Amsterdam for a layover and checking CNN on the overhead screens to see what’d happened) or simply confusion and too much time on my hands when it was happening, but it ended up fascinating me, the whole long drawn-out process that seemed tailor-made for television. British politics, I said to myself, aren’t anything like this.
Except, of course, now they are. A lot has been written and said about the televised election debates as part of this last UK election, but that’s not what’s seemed the most “American” thing about everything that’s happened (and is still happening) for me… No, that’d be the hung parliament situation that’s been going on since last Thursday’s election, with all the uncertainty and speculation and much-reported-on dealmaking and everything. What I used to consider relatively staid, in comparison with US politics at least, has become compulsive viewing and grand theater. Consider this round-up from today’s Guardian election blog:
Hearing a prime minister announce that he’s going to resign is always a big story. But Gordon Brown’s statement today was only one piece of the jigsaw, and perhaps not even the most important. What matters most is that this morning it looked as if the Tories and the Lib Dems were on the verge of forming a “confidence and supply” pact. Now it seems almost inevitable that the next government will be a coalition. But whether it will be a Tory/Lib Dem coalition or a Labour/Lib Dem coalition is anyone’s guess.
I feel sorry for Gordon Brown, in a strange way. I didn’t really like him as Prime Minister, I’m not convinced that he did a good job and I’ve become sadly depressed by the Labour part in general over the last few years, but I still feel as if he’s been slightly broken by everything that’s gone on recently, and pushed out by a party grabbing at its last chance for power. And yet, nonetheless, my past and upbringing and suspicion make me hope that Labour and the Liberal Democrats come to some kind of coalition deal, and that the Conservatives are kept out of office for awhile yet; growing up under the thumb of Margaret Thatcher tends to push that idea deep into your soul, I think.
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There would be something slightly dishonest – untenable, even – about a Labour/LibDem coalition, though – especially one that not only relied on diaphonous minority/nationalist/independent party support, but which tried to put up a second Prime Minister who hadn’t gone through a General Election as leader.
I think we’re heading for another General Election – one which cna only be good for the Tories, and bad for everybody else. The LibDems would do even worse than they did last week – Nick Clegg’s sudden spurt is too little, far too late to be anything other than an irritation to the populace. The LibDems might even end up being held up as scapegoats for the current hesitation, in which case they’re up shit creek.
Brown’s legacy as Chancellor will be overshadowed by his time as PM. History won’t be as harsh on him as they will be on Blair, of course, but that’s not saying much.
And that’s the most I’ve ever written about Politics! Cripes. Somebody ask abot Spider-Man before I get the vapours.
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