Ian Urquart [a-doy, I need to read bylines more closely...] at least, isn't making up wholesale fantasies of dhimmitude or anything. But he persists, like so many journalists, in worrying about fringe parties. Apparently, journalism now requires that we narrow the bounds of acceptable politics, not expand it.
But what's really annoying about this trope -- not just when Walkom uses it, but always -- is that it's not simply the size of a coalition that matters, but the stability. So a minority government has a very strong interest in seeking the cooperation of a large, moderate party with a number of seats. Tory's first attempt if he wanted a coalition government could very well be the Liberals, like the current government in Germany.
Oh, and on that note, it's incredibly aggravating that Ontario's media persist in pretending that Germany doesn't exist for the purposes of this discussion. Only Andrew Coyne is busy pointing out the comparison, because it looks really, really good.
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3 comments:
Too bad Thomas Walkom didn't write that column, dumbass. Learn to read.
Urquhart? Is that you so eloquently insulting our host?
What always enrages me about the "fringe party" trope si that nothing is wrong with fringe parties. Either they serve as a way for an obscure idea to become mainstream or they wither and die. What bout really evil parties? Well I see no sign that that letting evil people participate openly (as with Le Pens party in France) is any worse than having extremists take over mainstream parties as have happened with the Republicans in the U.S.
Let me preempt the Hitler example that is likely to follow (though maybe not from commentators on this blog). Hitler came to power from various causes including toleration of Nazi paramilitary gangs lone before the Nazis gained formal power. If you let political parties run their own private armed forces your political system is in serious trouble no matter the formal structure.
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