Thursday, February 02, 2006
Let the people decide
Here in Australia one of the current political issues is the defection of a National Party senator to the Liberals. Is this really such a big deal? My Thai friends would probably not think so. In Thailand it is quite common for politicians to change parties, usually to one that is in the ascendency.
The upshot of this issue is that the Nationals are threatening to run a three-cornered contest in any electorate that they think they might have a chance of winning. I say good. This is democracy in action.
There are three major political parties in Australia the Liberals, Labor and Nationals. While the Nationals are a separate party from the Liberals it rarely happens that they are not in coalition. Therefore they work together and have an agreement that they will not usually compete against each other in elections. In my opinion they are taking the choice away from voters. If they were truly democratic they would be giving the voters more choices not fewer.
Lets have three cornered contests so that the Australian people can decide who represents them in parliament. If this brings about the demise of one party or the other, too bad. Let the people have their say.
The upshot of this issue is that the Nationals are threatening to run a three-cornered contest in any electorate that they think they might have a chance of winning. I say good. This is democracy in action.
There are three major political parties in Australia the Liberals, Labor and Nationals. While the Nationals are a separate party from the Liberals it rarely happens that they are not in coalition. Therefore they work together and have an agreement that they will not usually compete against each other in elections. In my opinion they are taking the choice away from voters. If they were truly democratic they would be giving the voters more choices not fewer.
Lets have three cornered contests so that the Australian people can decide who represents them in parliament. If this brings about the demise of one party or the other, too bad. Let the people have their say.
