Stirring

[adderslj]

Today, for unaware Americans, is our general election. Tony Blair, and every other MP in the country, is standing for re-election.

I mention this because, in the run-up to the US elections, I saw plenty of Brits commenting on LJ about that democratic incident, but I have yet to see an American say anything about the UK elections.

Interesting.

Comments

[jfs.livejournal.com]

Not surprising though - the US election has more impact on my life than the UK election will have on the vast majority of Americans.

[adders.livejournal.com]

Perhaps, but the lack of any mention of it struck me as quite noticeable.

Keepin my fucking mouth shut...

[izzylobo.livejournal.com]

For two reasons. Firstly, I'm not actually qualified - living in a whole different country, and not actually following British politics that closely (as opposed to making suppositions and jumping to conclusions based on insufficient evidence... not that that ever happens in political postings...) - to make much in the way of comments.

Secondly, but actually more importantly, I'm actually aware of how infuriated I get when non-Americans jump up and down and tell me how to vote, or how they should clearly be allowed to vote because the US is so influential, and Yanks are all a bunch of dumb white slobs who don't know better than to vote for idiots, and so clearly their sovereignty should be taken away from them, and given to the Smart (insert here, but usually some flavor of European)s, who will clearly do a better job. Seeing as I'm not all that amused by folks telling me how I should vote, I tend not to tell people - especially people from other nations - how to vote. Just that they should.

Scott

Re: Keepin my fucking mouth shut...

[adders.livejournal.com]

Sure, but there's a whole world of difference between telling people how to vote, and watching an expressing an opinion on how the elections are going.

I got infuriated about The Guardian over here running a campaign to persuade voters in one critical county to vote for Kerry. But I also saw a lot of discussion about the possible consequences and motivations of the electorate in what the way they were voting, and the political philosophies underlying the candidates.

To what degree is your media covering the elections over here?

Re: Keepin my fucking mouth shut...

[anselm23.livejournal.com]

There's been an article or two in the New York Times every day or two. I don't watch TV, so I can't speak to CNN coverage or such-like, but it wouldn't surprise me if the answer is none.

the big story in the Boston Globe and the Hartford Courant was the swearing-in of the new Iraqi government.

Re: Keepin my fucking mouth shut...

[maliszew.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I second these notions myself. I've kept abreast of the British election and read a lot of UK magazines/newspapers online as part of my daily websurfing, so I'm probably better informed on the matter than many Americans. That said, I'm no expert and don't really feel it's my place to say much about the electoral process of another country, in part because, frankly, I don't get all the dynamics at work and it'd be presumptuous in the extreme to assume I did. Wish more foreigners took the same attitude about US elections.

That said, here's my prediction: Labour wins, although with a slightly smaller majority. The press paints as in spite of not because of Blair's joining the coalition in Iraq. I also predict he won't be prime minister for the entirety of the new government and will "resign" before the next general election.

[rdansky.livejournal.com]

Bear in mind that much of what the nerdigentsia understands about British politics comes from either knowing how well the swong is doing in the box, or what the platform is for the Standing at the Back Dressed Stupidly and Looking Stupid Party.

[innocent-man.livejournal.com]

Wait...other countries have elections? I thought you lot still had a kind or something?

-Matt the Ugly American

[innocent-man.livejournal.com]

Ugly American can't spell!

Kind=King.

[brusse.livejournal.com]

I expect the Brits to get involved in the Norwegian general elections this September!

[adders.livejournal.com]

I won't be involved, but I will be following them...

[bruceb.livejournal.com]

I've followed discussions of yinz's election with interest, but haven't felt like I ever got to a point where I could say "that would be an improvement on what you've got now".

[adders.livejournal.com]

That's probably an accurate summation of many people here's feelings, to be honest.

A

[bruceb.livejournal.com]

Well, it wouldn't surprise me. But I'm trying to spend less time on fairly clealry futile pursuits, at least at the level of engagement deep enough to work up an actual opinion.

Y'all got my best wishes, of course, and hopes for good stuff.

[ephraim.livejournal.com]

Fat chance of good stuff, I'm afraid, with the range of stunners we're forced to choose from.

Still, we'll all do our electoral duty an' all... and hope that the establishment get the message.

[ashamel.livejournal.com]

I read a op-ed column on the elections in the New York Times. That's about it, really.

Watching and waiting....

[jltraut.livejournal.com]

There's been some discussions on DailyKos, which has a number of non-Americans posting, and we're all certainly watching with great interest to see what happens. But from the American point of view, it's a bit harder to make any intelligent comments without knowing the parties and the MPs, which aren't covered in American media very well -- other than to hope that memo that got leaked last weekend has a bigger effect over there than it seems to have had here.

But we're all wishing you the best of luck, and hoping the Brits turn out to have more collective sense than half of the US did last November.

[point5b.livejournal.com]

I've been reading about it in blogs and such. Some rather silly right-wing whooping about the results. As for my opinions about the elections...Mmm. Shall we just leave it at "the politics and political factions of the UK are less to my liking than those of the US, so it's convenient that I am in the US"?

[skank-radiator.livejournal.com]

I come from Australia, and to give an indication of how much politics affects me.. our annual budget, which is considered a big day on the political calender, was announced 3 days ago. Someone gave a quick rundown of it today. That's the first I heard of it.

I did know that the Brits were having elections. Buggered if I'd know who was who. My PM has such little influence in International politics that I feel it's more patriotic for me to stay out of it. :P

But I often like this question (it could backfire though, just from reading this thread, you guys are quite well-read), who is Australia's Prime Minister? It's a silly question for me to ask, I don't really know who the Govener General is at the moment.

[adders.livejournal.com]

John Howard, of the Liberal Party, I believe.