So that was that: four straight weeks of frenzied electioneering over and done with, one tense night at party headquarters across the capital to go. As the British public heads to the polls, a brief pause to reflect on one of the more striking aspects of the campaign: just how American it all felt. Granted, we don't drag things out as long as you guys, and, yes, we actually count our votes by hand when they come in. But this year more then ever, the emphasis has been on personality as much as politics - it's almost as though we are electing a president. We've had televised debates for the first time ever. The battle to claim Obama has been both ludicrous and hard-fought. Every third word spoken seems to have been 'change'. The media have played a colossal role. It's like the quaint British electoral system decided to switch off the wireless and join the 21st Century - and as ever, when it comes to modernity, we're more than happy to follow your lead.
It's not just presentation, either. Britain is locked in a fierce battle over taxation and the state, with a Conservative victory likely to pull the UK closer to a US-style capitalist system than ever before. Labour, the traditional party of the working classes, has had the rug pulled from underneath it, with the decline of British manufacturing demolishing their core vote. In its place, every man must stand for himself - and, as the upper classes are also shrinking, material wealth is increasingly the only measure of success. The so-called 'special relationship' may be over, but Britain's place in the new world order is already halfway across the Atlantic - whether we keep right on paddling remains to be seen. Given how unsuccessful we usually are at being American, however - take the British film industry for one - it might be wise to pack a lifejacket just to be safe...
No comments:
Post a Comment