So, another election has come and gone, this time in the UK. No longer, though, do we accept the result with equanimity and move on. No, we'll now endure several weeks of recriminations, head-shaking, detailed analysis and hand-wringing, until the last drop of interest has been squeezed out of the corpse.
Of the elections held recently, only the French one seems to have been conducted with any dignity. Maybe, that's an illusion and our local media doesn't give us all the detail, but Macron seems to be a reasonable fellow and has, at least, saved the French from the excesses of Marine Le Pen.
Having banked everything on the result and lost, Theresa May, to save her government, has rushed into a coalition with a right-wing Irish party founded by the loud-mouthed hate-filled Reverend Ian Paisley, who came to prominence during 'the troubles'. Just when you think things were improving, some unthinking politician has given them another microphone to spout their particular brand of venom. It's a funny kind of Christianity these people espouse.
One saving aspect of the U.K. Election is the resurgence of young people voting. Here in Australia, we're used to compulsory voting and voting on a Saturday, so neglecting to or refusing to vote is not such an issue here but it's a growing problem in the UK and the US. Only 66% of eligible voters bothered to turn out in the UK in 2015, down from a high of 83.9% in 1950, with similar numbers in the US.
We still need to work on getting more of our young people to register and to vote. While ever we leave the power to decide in the hands of older white men and their compliant spouses, nothing will change. The young people in the UK didn't bother to vote in the Brexit Referendum and have seen the future being taken out of their hands. Unfortunately, the same is happening here. If the only young people voting are products of the Young Liberals or Young Labor, then heaven help us.
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