THE GLOBE AND MAIL: With 40 per cent of voters undecided and the resurgent third-place Liberals likely to keep either the Conservatives or Labour from a majority, PM Gordon Brown faces a frighteningly familiar situation
The British Prime Minister, devastated by an economic meltdown that has left his country swimming in debt, scarred by rising fuel prices and a series of strikes, has found his re-election hopes sideswiped by a young, charismatic Liberal whose third-place party has suddenly risen to big-party popularity levels. The Prime Minister, desperate to hold onto power, prepares to form a coalition government with the Liberals even if his party comes in second.
That was Britain in 1974 – an amazingly familiar scenario that terrifies British voters as they go to the polls Thursday.
With almost 40 per cent of voters undecided on election eve and a resurgent third-place Liberal Democratic Party likely to prevent either the Conservatives or Labour from winning a majority, there is a good chance that Friday morning will be a jarring repeat of 1974.
And voters know how that story goes. The Liberal Leader, in exchange for backing the minority government, demands a referendum to switch to a proportional-representation voting system, which would prevent the big parties from ever having majorities again. The pact collapses after days, there’s another election, followed by five years of disarray and misery.
Back then, it was Tory Prime Minster Edward Heath who tried to turn his second-place finish into a coalition government, failed, and punted the country into the long grass. Liberal Leader Jeremy Thorpe turned his centrist party into coalition kingmakers – or spoilers, depending on your perspective – for the rest of the 1970s, an era that saw Britain spiral into near-total economic shutdown, unmanageable debt, and a Greek-style bailout from the International Monetary fund. >>> Doug Saunders | Published Wednesday, May 05, 2010; Updated Thursday, May 06, 2010
THE GLOBE AND MAIL: A jealous love triangle waits to erupt in the U.K. >>> Doug Saunders | Wednesday, May 05, 2010
