12 May 2010

Maybe Two Heads (of State) are Better than One

by Bonnie | posted in: Musing | 0

Today the UK is struggling to wrap its collective minds around the notion that it now has a coalition government. Commentators keep saying the last coalition government was in wartime, ending in 1945. They don’t seem to know quite what to make of having a coalition government in peacetime.

To me, it’s a coalition government stepping forward in a time of great crisis. Living in the UK and still having business interests in the USA, I see the current economic situation differently from the many Britons whose entire lives are here except for occasional holidays abroad. This country is in trouble.

If anyone had asked me a month ago whether the UK could deliver at the ballot box a governmental change as dramatic as the USA did in 2008, I would have said no. The British have surprised me. I believe this is the best option they had in front of them. It might not do what they need, let alone what they want, but it looks like their best shot.

Obama has accomplished more than I thought anyone could, faster than I thought anyone could, for the USA. The UK also has compelling needs. Since it didn’t have another Churchill on tap, the UK is hoping two heads of government will be better than one. I’m glad they are trying. I hope it works.

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