As Goes the UK, So Goes the US
Culture 11:35 AM
by Nick Stone of Drawnlines Politics.
British voters head to the polls today in perhaps the most exciting and confusing election in decades. But will their decision prove decisive? And will the outcome be seen as a canary in the coal mine for the party in power on our side of the pond? To find out, take a walk with me down memory lane.
After several cycles in power in the United Kingdom, the Labour Government had outstayed its welcome. Facing high unemployment, soaring inflation, worker unrest, stagnant productivity and a sinking Pound Sterling, Brits sacked the Labour Party and swept Margaret Thatcher into power as the first female Prime Minister in 1979. One year later, Ronald Reagan's new conservative revolution swept America after one long-enough term of Jimmy Carter's skittish foreign policy, an emboldened Soviet Union, soaring inflation and high unemployment. The two conservative governments collaborated to restore the world economy, cripple the USSR and restrain inflation over the next decade.
If that scenario seems a little too germane to our current circumstance on both sides of the ocean, it's because you've been paying attention to history's cycles. Of course, today is not exactly like 1979 for several reasons. The European Union has organized and strengthened greatly, the global economy is more intertwined than ever, and inflation hasn't risen rapidly because economic recovery is so nascent in most regions of the globe. Also you could argue that we've yet to find our Thatcher and Reagan.
Yet, David Cameron does have many ideologies in common with Reagan, most notably a healthy fear of Britain becoming a lockstep member of the EU. And should Cameron become the PM after today's results as expected, he will inherit a mess of global proportions due to the same overspending and mismanagement that has plagued the rest of the continent. The tough choices the next government will have to make to right the British ship will likely cost the next ruling party in future elections - that is a foregone conclusion.
Another probable lesson of today's election is that Britain, like America, loves the idea of third party candidates but rarely gives them much support as Election Day approaches. Real Clear Politics poll averages show that the Liberal Democrat Party surged after the first televised election debate proved that a third choice had real hope of salvation from two-party hot potato. But as grandiose promises became unveiled and the shine wore off, voters quickly drifted back toward their natural homes in the Tory and Labour Parties.
Whatever happens after today promises to be a show worth watching. That show will prove to be important not only to British voters, but to Americans and Europeans as well. Many European Union leaders have said in no uncertain terms that the worst outcome for the future of the EU would be a conservative government. Could it be possible that their worst fears turn out to be our best hope?
For now we can only hold our breath and see if the canary comes out of the coal mine alive.
For videos and archives visit Drawnlines Politics Online AND check us out on FACEBOOK
British voters head to the polls today in perhaps the most exciting and confusing election in decades. But will their decision prove decisive? And will the outcome be seen as a canary in the coal mine for the party in power on our side of the pond? To find out, take a walk with me down memory lane.
After several cycles in power in the United Kingdom, the Labour Government had outstayed its welcome. Facing high unemployment, soaring inflation, worker unrest, stagnant productivity and a sinking Pound Sterling, Brits sacked the Labour Party and swept Margaret Thatcher into power as the first female Prime Minister in 1979. One year later, Ronald Reagan's new conservative revolution swept America after one long-enough term of Jimmy Carter's skittish foreign policy, an emboldened Soviet Union, soaring inflation and high unemployment. The two conservative governments collaborated to restore the world economy, cripple the USSR and restrain inflation over the next decade.
If that scenario seems a little too germane to our current circumstance on both sides of the ocean, it's because you've been paying attention to history's cycles. Of course, today is not exactly like 1979 for several reasons. The European Union has organized and strengthened greatly, the global economy is more intertwined than ever, and inflation hasn't risen rapidly because economic recovery is so nascent in most regions of the globe. Also you could argue that we've yet to find our Thatcher and Reagan.
Yet, David Cameron does have many ideologies in common with Reagan, most notably a healthy fear of Britain becoming a lockstep member of the EU. And should Cameron become the PM after today's results as expected, he will inherit a mess of global proportions due to the same overspending and mismanagement that has plagued the rest of the continent. The tough choices the next government will have to make to right the British ship will likely cost the next ruling party in future elections - that is a foregone conclusion.
Another probable lesson of today's election is that Britain, like America, loves the idea of third party candidates but rarely gives them much support as Election Day approaches. Real Clear Politics poll averages show that the Liberal Democrat Party surged after the first televised election debate proved that a third choice had real hope of salvation from two-party hot potato. But as grandiose promises became unveiled and the shine wore off, voters quickly drifted back toward their natural homes in the Tory and Labour Parties.
Whatever happens after today promises to be a show worth watching. That show will prove to be important not only to British voters, but to Americans and Europeans as well. Many European Union leaders have said in no uncertain terms that the worst outcome for the future of the EU would be a conservative government. Could it be possible that their worst fears turn out to be our best hope?
For now we can only hold our breath and see if the canary comes out of the coal mine alive.
For videos and archives visit Drawnlines Politics Online AND check us out on FACEBOOK
Posted by Nick Stone
on 11:35 AM.
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