Proportional representation - what do you think about this ?

The Dutch system has just created a very strange situation. Dutch general election was yesterday. Their seat system is not local government based - it's on proportional representation. You need more than 75 seats to have a majority and therefore to form a government. The results (in seats) were:

41 Christian Democrats (centre right)
32 Workers Party (centre left)
26 Socialist Party (left)
22 VVD (right)
9 Freedom party (extreme right)
7 Green party (extreme left)
6 Christian Union (loony Christian extremists)
3 D66 (centre)
2 SGP (even more loony Christian extremists)
2 Animal Rights party (left)

The big winner was the Socialist Party (yay!) who went from 8 seats in 2003 to 26 in 2006.

Obviously no government can be formed without a coalition. However, the process now is that the biggest party, regardess of lack of majority, gets to pick who to invite into the coalition. If the invited parties refuse, the Queen is asked and normally refers to the second party to form a coalition, and so on.

Then you get the ones who won't work with each other (the extreme left and extreme right will never work together), and that you cannot realistically have more than 3 parties in a coalition.

What we're left with is that this system picks the top few parties and then the governmental parties are decided by politicians anyway. The irony is (and I'm quite happy about it) that the public trend this year was strongly to the extremes - Socialists and extreme right - but the reality is that it will result in an extremely central government!

After a vote overwhelmingly in favour of a move to the left, the most likely coalition is the top party (centre right, Christian nutbags) inviting the second party (centre left) and the Christian Union (Christian uber-nutbag extremists) to form a government.

Not exactly the people's choice. And worrying to have so much Christian influence at this moment in time, especially as they would hold a majority over the left.

Now, how do you feel about proportional representation now ?

Personally I'm undecided. It's portrayed as a fairer system and certainly ensures more balance, but the end result is not chosen by the voters. It's conceivable that a party finishes first, the other parties refuse to go with them, then the Queen has to ask the second party who then forms a coalition freezing out the top party.

Steve

Posted By: Steve in Holland, Nov 23, 09:46:00