Je suis bouleversé, both shaken and stirred. Political elections are in progress in Turkey and Thailand and we are on the threshold of elections in the United Kingdom and the United States. Whether the outcome of these exercises in democracy will produce governments sufficiently attuned to the desires and hopes of their electorate, or at any rate, the majority, as well as being able to keep the oppositions ‘loyal’, is what causes my concern.
Since 2016 there has been such a polarisation of opinion in many leading democracies, that it is difficult to assess whether or not these nations can even hold together, as the rifts and divisions keep simmering away just below boiling point. It is as if someone is about to take the lid off a pressure cooker without waiting for the steam to subside. Of particular concern to me is what I have seen developing in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Since the republican party has devoted itself to Donald Trump, it has become an assemblage of fanaticism. Under his banner of Making America Great Again he has drawn together various factions demanding cult-like devotion to their extreme views on what it is to be an ‘American’. There are the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers and a variety of other disciples, all of whom see some mythical strongman wielding guns and kicking ass. To what purpose or effect, one does not know. It is enough that he kicks ass. To be worshipful of a psychotic narcissistic braggart is all that is required. It really is a question of all mouth and no trousers.
The policies are entirely negative and repressive. Ban books, limit education, down with ‘woke’, obliterate any opposition. It’s beyond Stepford Wives to Stepford Citizens. It’s the Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Reality and fact have no place whatsoever. Contradictions, hypocrisy, stupidity and ignorance rule.
This may seem harsh, but whilst I see and hear many informed voices on the internet and the American media, and despite the legal judgements and forthcoming possible prosecutions, none of this has any effect whatsoever on his supporters who applaud and revel in his denials. insults and excuses. To see and hear women who continue to support him, despite his having been exposed as a sexual predator (which he also admits) is incredible. How can they ignore what is so blatant? How can any of his Maga mob ignore so much of what is crystal clear?
I can only refer you again to Jonathan Freedland’s piece in the Guardian:
The outcome of the election on Tuesday 5th November 2024 is one of the most important events for the safety of the free world, assuming it survives until that time.
As to the United Kingdom, we have a very similar situation. Since 2016 and the referendum to leave the European Union on the 23rd June of that year, the United Kingdom has been split into deep divisions, within both major political parties. The labour party is only just beginning to bring itself together. I presume the obvious failure of Brexit has caused the many labour activists who supported it to rethink their position. Indeed there was much within the so-called broad church of the party to rethink. As to the conservative party the fissures begin to widen. Though still grinding on with a right wing repressive agenda, there is what can only be described as a lunatic fringe calling for even further malignant and mendacious policies and the resurrection of Boris Johnson. How out of touch can they be? Perhaps they are not. The possible continuation of the conservative government is, I regret, not wholly unlikely, given the eccentric nature of the British electorate.
Having written the above, the results of the elections in Thailand and Turkey are coming through. It would appear the Thai people have supported the opposition parties and have rejected continued military rule. The leader of the Move Forward Party, Pita Limjaroenrat, is claiming to be the next prime minister and has invited Pheu Thai, and other opposition parties, to form an alliance after securing the largest number of votes. Whether he will actually succeed in this is still a question, as the choice of prime minister is not just by the 500 seat House of representatives, but also by the senate whose 250 members were appointed by the military in the last coup. Whether the military will give way to the people’s vote is to be seen.
As to Turkey, it would seem that President Erdoğan may have to have a runoff election with Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu as neither will have received 50% of the vote. We can but watch this space. At the moment the President is ahead on the count and is predicting he has achieved the required majority to avoid the second ballot.
These results do seem to indicate that there are countries where the conservative autocratic parties are out of favour with the general population, or at least the electorate. Whether the ruling parties will actually allow for the democratic process to be fully realised is another matter entirely. What sort of disruption, if any, will arise if they do not? It is all in the air.
Hence the continued anxiety. It must be remembered that prior to Mr Erdoğan, the military were very much in control of Turkey. He has done much to cement civilian rule, but at what cost to the Turkish citizen? On the surface, what is the difference between a civilian authority under the control of the military, and a civilian autocrat controlling the military and remaining in power. Just who is in control? At least there are elections. How effective they are is another matter. One has to accept that Mr Erdoğan apparently has complete control of the media in Turkey, and rather like Putin in Russia, what the Turkish (and Russian) people hear and absorb is a complete vindication and support for the President of the country. All things considered, what Mr Kılıçdaroğlu has achieved in opposition is quite remarkable.
None of this is in any way indicative of what is going on in the United Kingdom and the United States. The British and American constitutions, one written and one not, are not too dissimilar in their approach to a civilian democratic state under the rule of law and duty of care. The concepts of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and protest are fundamental to its system of government. This is far from the case in Turkey or Thailand, but there are a substantial number of citizens in the UK (and USA) who would seek to amend and indeed curb those freedoms under the banner of maintaining order. Do not forget that a majority of journals and other media support the conservative party. Their influence does have some effect and is cause for concern.
This position should be opposed
as vigorously as possible by every free thinking responsible citizen. Our fundamental
freedoms are more fragile that one imagines as evidenced by the outrageous
arrests of people opposed to the monarchy and anyone in their vicinity whether
or not they were together. This cannot be allowed to continue. One must stop
the rot at the next general election. If thirteen years of misrule are a lesson
of any kind, then that will happen. I shudder to think what will come next if
not.
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