Anthony Barnett on What Matters in the UK Elections
Are you as frustrated with British electoral politics as I am? Does it seem a bit too close to recent elections in the United States and Israel (unpopular, untruthful, belligerant incumbents destined to win because the opposition can't mount a persuasive message)?
Anthony Barnett of openDemocracy offers his views on what's wrong across the pond:
The election feels like a charade. It is not that all politicians are liars or mainly lie. This is a cheap untruth. It is not that there is no difference between the parties. The point is that a general election is a rare, four-yearly moment when people can exercise power. We are sold elections as a moment when our views count. But the issues which really count about the directions we should or should not take are not on the table.There are seven great issues facing Britain. One has been met by Labour – the economy. Thanks mainly to Gordon Brown and his team what was a crippled economy prone to ‘go-stop’ is growing and ensuring employment. There are plenty of remaining questions about structural inequalities, of course, whose resolution demands international action.
But what kind of country does Britain wish to be? Four more issues address this: the relationships with Europe and America, with democracy and between city and country.
Read the whole post. It's great.
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)