"Well, the American people aren’t stupid."The evidence would seem to indicate otherwise; they elected Bush twice, and in 2010 gave the House back to the Republicans.
But Obama has to be right. We know the American people are childish, self-indulgent, and a little bit racist; but if they're actually stupid enough to reward the Republicans for four years of open sabotage, then democracy is over.
The poison is already spreading: Tea party tactics have snuck through customs in Kevin Rudd's luggage. Rudd was the Prime Minister, before he was ousted by Gillard in a minor coup. She gave him Foreign Minister as a consolation prize, possibly hoping that keeping him out of the country would keep him out of trouble (hey, plenty of Roman emperors tried that).
Instead, it exposed him to Washington politics. He watched the Tea Party threaten to bankrupt the nation and largely get away with it. He saw that an uninformed, self-centered populace pays so little attention that only the name at the top takes any blame; the rest of the government can hold the entire nation (including themselves) at gunpoint making idiotic demands without any negative consequences.
So now he's trying it at home. The Labor government came to power without enough seats; they had to sign on all three independents just to form a government. Losing even one seat means they can't wield a majority, which means there has to be a new election. But nobody wants a new election - even the leaders of the opposition (the Liberals) are afraid they'll lose their leadership positions. So, despite the unpleasantness, everyone tacitly agreed to just muddle on.
Until Rudd walks in the door and threatens to wreck everything unless they make him boss. Seriously, this is exactly like a mobster threatening to machine-gun both his old gang and the cops if they don't make him the mob boss.
Under normal circumstances, it is a strategy so self-defeating that only a suicidal lunatic would try it. But with America setting the fashion trend, expect more and more of it. This next election is a chance to turn it around, make it clear that irresponsible politics leads to loss of power. It may be the last chance.
apparently Aussie politics are complicated - is it all about protocol? Who actually runs the country?
ReplyDeleteThis is a parliamentary system; so you vote for a Party. If a party gets a majority of the seats, then it forms a government. The party selects a prime minster and his cabinet, and they can change them at any time.
ReplyDeleteWe also have a Governor General, but he is appointed by the Queen, and his only job is to dissolve Parliament when the Queen tells him to, which she only does when the Aussie government asks her to.
There's a bit of a movement to turn Australia into a Republic, and sever the last ties with the Queen. You can imagine I will be working for that once I get to vote here. :D