Monday, May 17, 2010

Strange Bedfellows At 10 Downing Street

That almost sounds that it would be a good title for a play, if I say so myself.  Unfortunately, it's a real-life comment on the new coalition government that has taken control of Britain, in the wake of national elections that left no political party with a clear majority in the House of Commons.  As a consequence, the left-of-center Liberal Democrats (jointly, the political heirs of William Gladstone and Roy Jenkins) and the decidedly right-of-center Conservative Party have formed a coalition government. with David Cameron of the Conservatives as Prime Minister, and Nicholas Clegg of the Liberal Democrats as his deputy.

In an age of hyperpartisan politics in our own country, it's tempting to see this as some kind of harmonic convergence that will be uniquely able to respond to the demands of our times.  David Brooks certainly sees it that way.  But given the fact that the overwhelming majority of the country voted for the two left-of-center parties (Labour and the Liberal Democrats), as well as the very real and sharp political positions of the coalition parties on every major issue, it's hard to see the Cameron-Clegg partnership as anything but a marriage of political convenience, united in the short run only by the recent distaste for Labour that in turn was largely generated by the unlikeable personality of Gordon Brown (who, in the charm department, was no Tony Blair).

In this context, it seems significant that the coalition government's first proposed legislative act is a law that would guarantee themselves power for five years, replacing the current system under which they might be subjected to a vote of confidence within a five-year period.  This is not the sort of proposal that inspires confidence in the long-term prospects of this harmonic convergence--or those, for that matter, of Great Britain itself.  I think the only beneficiary here is Labour, which may very well be back in charge faster than you can say National Health.

I feel somewhat sorry for Clegg, who seems to have sold his soul--and the soul of a great political party with a rich tradition--simply for a seat in power.  It won't be long before he finds himself very much the junior partner in the new government, and his own party in revolt against him.

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