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Sativied

Sativied

Well-Known Member
Fogdog said:
What would be called a right wing politician in the NL is a centrist or moderate in this country. Maybe even left leaning. Our right wing is insane.
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Well, yes that would be probably be correct for the PM and his party. We do have an at least as insane far right too though, and several far lefties parties, even rightwinged anti abortion anti gay evangelicals. Thanks to the multiparty system they are effectively excluded from governing. The extremes obviously cant work together to get a majority, and the moderate right and center can’t form a coalition with far right without becoming partly far right. None is even close to a majority on its own. So in practice our coalition cabinets are closer to the center than the extremes, the right has to work with the center or even the moderate left to get a majority.

If we’d have a 2-party system, given enough russian propaganda bots, on a bad day, our Hitler wannabe Wilders could have won. He came close and led the polls more than once. His party is a spin-off from the leading rightwinged liberals. People here, as well as in Belgium and France know it could have happened here too. So rather than enmity for America there is empathy for Americans.

It’s all about consensus decision-making or what we call the polder model:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polder_model (@ttystikk I think you’d like that)

Can’t work though if there is “antipathy to unions and cooperation with others”.

Fogdog said:
While Trump is bad, I see him as a symptom and not the cause.
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I agree, but he is by now a problem and source of problems all by himself and when it comes to repairing international relations removing that symptom, that tumor, will be a major start.

Won’t remove the causes inside the US indeed. Hopefully you get a president who can somehow pull the right towards the center and unite not only the left. It seems the 2-party 2-candidate system only encourages a more extreme division.
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
Sativied said:
Well, yes that would be probably be correct for the PM and his party. We do have an at least as insane far right too though, and several far lefties parties, even rightwinged anti abortion anti gay evangelicals. Thanks to the multiparty system they are effectively excluded from governing. The extremes obviously cant work together to get a majority, and the moderate right and center can’t form a coalition with far right without becoming partly far right. None is even close to a majority on its own. So in practice our coalition cabinets are closer to the center than the extremes, the right has to work with the center or even the moderate left to get a majority.

If we’d have a 2-party system, given enough russian propaganda bots, on a bad day, our Hitler wannabe Wilders could have won. He came close and led the polls more than once. His party is a spin-off from the leading rightwinged liberals. People here, as well as in Belgium and France know it could have happened here too. So rather than enmity for America there is empathy for Americans.

It’s all about consensus decision-making or what we call the polder model:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polder_model (@ttystikk I think you’d like that)

Can’t work though if there is “antipathy to unions and cooperation with others”.

I agree, but he is by now a problem and source of problems all by himself and when it comes to repairing international relations removing that symptom, that tumor, will be a major start.

Won’t remove the causes inside the US indeed. Hopefully you get a president who can somehow pull the right towards the center and unite not only the left. It seems the 2-party 2-candidate system only encourages a more extreme division.
Click to expand...
Americans simply can't do decision-making by consensus. It's a very sad cultural shortcoming that I do hope we grow out of someday.
 
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