Is Two-Party Politics Finished in Europe?
By Ashifa Kassam
December 21, 2015
The Guardian
There are some new faces on the political scene in Spain today, with emerging parties proving popular enough to deny victory to either of the two established groups in the general election. But that’s all they can do. The smaller parties have gained seats, but not enough to allow them to offer an obvious coalition solution. Spain is now in the process of trying to bolt some sort of government together from disparate parts. There is even talk of a grand coalition.
The more eager pundits suggest that the two-party system in Spain is over. Certainly, the Spanish are not the only ones who wonder if this is the case. It’s become normal for elections all over Europe to feature some sincere young academic leading a new leftwing party with a dynamic-sounding name, upsetting the establishment apple-cart. In Spain it’s Podemos. Likewise, it has become normal for elections all over Europe to include fraught enactments of regional or national identity politics, and Spain, as ever, has that in plentiful supply.
In general, though, what seems to be changing in Europe is what voters want their vote to express. We may still discuss politics in terms of left and right, but individuals seem to want to vote for parties that represent their own particular beliefs in a much more specific way. It’s almost as if the concept of consumer choice has winkled its way into politics. We want to riffle through the racks, searching for something that suits us perfectly, trying it on, maybe even buying it.
"Politicians used to expect a very generalised mandate from their voters."
The irony, of course, is that the parties who most loudly proclaim that choice and competition are the only ways to ensure healthy services tend also to be the ones that least like the idea of less duopolistic government. Spain is no different to Britain in that regard, and it will be interesting to see quite how much prime minister Mariano Rajoy is willing to compromise in order to stay in power.
But it would be really refreshing if politicians started thinking about what voters wanted from their vote. Across Europe people are eschewing the left/right one-size-fits-all model, in order to express their beliefs and ideas in a more specific way. Politicians used to expect a very generalised mandate from their voters. I don’t think they can expect that any more and I don’t think they like it much.
Perhaps the time has come for us all to ask how much we really value democracy, and to start discussing how much more expressive and responsive it could be in this technological age. Change is coming. The big question now is how good we are going to be at shaping the sorts of change that can renew democracy instead of stunting and blunting it.
Is Two-Party Politics Finished in Europe?
The irony, of course, is that the parties who most loudly proclaim that choice and competition are the only ways to ensure healthy services tend also to be the ones that least like the idea of less duopolistic government. Spain is no different to Britain in that regard, and it will be interesting to see quite how much prime minister Mariano Rajoy is willing to compromise in order to stay in power.
But it would be really refreshing if politicians started thinking about what voters wanted from their vote. Across Europe people are eschewing the left/right one-size-fits-all model, in order to express their beliefs and ideas in a more specific way. Politicians used to expect a very generalised mandate from their voters. I don’t think they can expect that any more and I don’t think they like it much.
Perhaps the time has come for us all to ask how much we really value democracy, and to start discussing how much more expressive and responsive it could be in this technological age. Change is coming. The big question now is how good we are going to be at shaping the sorts of change that can renew democracy instead of stunting and blunting it.
Article Link to the Guardian:
0 Response to "Is Two-Party Politics Finished in Europe? "
Post a Comment