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10.3.09

The Case for Electoral Reform

Oh no it's politics again! Sorry, I really am but JESUS CHRIST! It really is time to get this rag tag bunch of bandits out of our parliament. This clucking brood of chancers, these oh so clubbable back slapping, brown nosing, jeering and cheering, pseudo alpha male, dominator fantasists. This pin striped and shirted bunch of clowns. These greedy talentless bombasts and their cunning little plans and focus groups and new politics initiatives and new communities initiatives and health advice and our children this and that and edu-my-arse-cation and how green are my politics and new new new shiny new Labour.
Phew! Needed to get that off my chest, cheers.

Politics? From POLIS which is the Glaswegian for POLICE or the Greek word meaning State or city. POLITICKUS thus meaning the affairs of state. The Latin POLITICUS and the wonderful French POLITIQUE which must be the politics of the boutique.

But yes how did the 'affairs of state' become such a club for chumps and pole climbers? Where did it all, as it were, go so very wrong?

My take on this is that politics is doomed from the start because the very people drawn to political power are those with the least appropriate character to have it. At my boarding school (Yes damn your eyes!) if the system broke to the extent that we all ended up with an extra half hour in bed there would always be some oily little creep who would alert the powers that be to their inadvertent charity and order would be re-imposed. There you see your future politician.
In 'The Republic' Plato addresses the issue by forcing the 'guardians' to live communal lives of material asceticism to prevent greed and corruption but as he also advocates lying to the population whenever appropriate so we cannot find solace in his fuzzy headed, body-hating, republic of anally fixated toga wearers.

But this first past the post cobblers really does give the lie to democracy. We need some form of Proportional Representation now. Shiny Nude Labour promised a serious look at it years ago but like most promises made by Mr Blur...

No there's just no way to square this circle-the people least suited to leadership are the people most strongly drawn to it. But yet! But yet! I am beginning to suspect albeit slowly and with some minor reservations that when I look at Barack Obama, I may be looking at true greatness.

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