Cut Throat Politics



Japanese PM Naoto Kan



Former Italian PM Romano Prodi

 I must admit, I am fascinated by the variety shown in the political dynamics of democratic countries. Across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, the common thread of democracy is interpreted very differently by all parties and people. To say that any two democracies are entirely the same would be wrong. It doesn't matter if they've got a Parliamentary or Presidential system; differences between nations with Parliamentary systems are chiasmic, for example.

Let us compare, for example, the USA and France, two Presidential democracies. In the USA, for example, the Senate is shared by two parties; the Democrats and Republicans. In France, however, there are far more parties in the Senate; aside from the UMP and PS, there are also Senators from the centrist union, Communist Party, Left Party and so on.

Parliamentary systems also have large differences between them. In the UK, for example, though there are two dominant parties, Labour and Conservative, the third party Liberal Democrats have a sizeable representation in the Commons (57 of 650 seats). In Italy, on the other hand, no party ever has a majority, because there are three tiers of party size. The current government, for example, depends on a coalition between Il Popolo della Liberta and Lega Nord.

The dynamics of the parties and their respective power is only one interesting aspect. Another is the patience of the party members and electorate with their political and party leaders, and the longevity of political parties. In the UK, the two main parties are both quite old; the modern Conservative party was founded in 1834, and the Labour Party in 1900. In Italy, however, the two main parties, Il Popolo della Liberta and the Democratic Party were founded in 2009 and 2007 respectively. Similarly, the Conservative Party has been lead by David Cameron since 2005, while Italy's Democratic Party has had four leaders in just under four years.

All of these trends and comparisons, as interesting as they are, are little more than mere trivialities in most cases. The USA, UK, France, and so on, all function properly despite their different systems and dynamics.

But there are two countries that suffer as a result of their unique political dynamics. I am, of course, referring to Japan and Italy. If we look at both these countries, they suffer from short lived governments and, by western standards, political instability. Both countries have exceptions to the rule; Junchiro Koizumi in Japan and Silvio Berlusconi in Italy, but, overall, governments don't tend to last long in these countries.

Since 2006, Japan has had five Prime Ministers. Italy, on the other hand, has had two. There is no doubt that Prime Ministers are quicker to resign in Japan, but their governments are also more effective. Italy and Japan have very different problems that plague their democratic systems.

Italy's, as previously mentioned, is the fact that there are so many parties, with so little ideological overlap, that they all tend to eclipse each other and none can ever, ever get an absolute majority. Thus coalitions are always formed. I am not talking about coalitions in the sense of the Conservative-Lib Dem government we currently have in the UK, where two parties together govern. I am talking about coalitions of many parties with a great many conflicting ideals and interests.

Take, for example, the most recent government to collapse; the second government of Romano Prodi. Formed in 2006, it collapsed in 2008, after less than two years. Why? The fact that it was composed of 11 political parties (after some merged with each other) likely contributed to this. Balancing the unique interests of all these parties is like dancing on a pit of snakes. The only reason that Silvio Berlusconi is able to make his coalitions (his first government aside) stay together is a rare talent that likely has something to do with the media monopoly he has. This is not to say that Berlusconi is totally immune to issues; recent local elections and the nuclear power referendum show his influence is on the wane, though it may always re surge, as it has in the past.

The problem Japan has is totally different. Governments here consistently form majority governments; indeed, it is well known that the centre-right Liberal Democratic Party ruled consistently from 1955 (I think) until 2009, with one eleven month interregnum in the 1990s. Since 2009, the Democratic Party has managed to rule with a majority. But it has had two Prime Ministers.

The problem as I see it with Japan is that the politicians and public are unforgiving, and the former too willing to backstab to improve their lot. In Italy, Berlusconi gets away with all the gaffes he likes; he is, if you will, immune. Conversely, Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama made history in September 2009 when he ended 54 years of LDP rule, but in June 2010 resigned because of gaffes that, in other countries, would have been shrugged off and pale in comparison to Berlusconi's sex games and tactless remarks.

Naoto Kan has done an admirable job of staying in office for what is now over a year. Recently, he resisted pressure to resign. Members of the LDP sided with members of his own party to try and get him to resign... because there was an earthquake and tsunami, and they felt his handling was not up to scratch. Japanese politics are ruthless, petty, and very bad for the country, in the same way that Italian politics are unstable, corrupt, and similarly bad for the country.

The democratic system is a wonderful one but, clearly, it does not always work as it should. In such countries, measures need to be taken because, at the end of the day, very little has been achieved politically in the past decade. Similarly Japan, a country beset by natural disasters, needs to have a little more respect for its leaders and needs politicians who are more loyal. Until such a time as both of these countries realise and sort out their problems - in Italy, this means once Berlusconi is retired and/or dead - then real progress cannot be made.