Politics in B.

Still no government in B., where general elections were held in June. In principle I would agree that government by coalition is democratic. As an observer of the process, I do not find it agreeable. Cobbling a government together from dozens of political parties seems haphazard, at best. And, the electorate have no idea what might emerge until after the fact. Unless, of course, one party wins a clear majority of the votes, or two parties win most of the votes between them, and coalesce. Neither case happens often. In B. now, the main obstacle to forming a national government is that the factions involved, separated more by language differences than politics, have yet to agree to agree to form a government. Months have been spent bickering semantics and inconsequentials. One side or the other abandoning the bargaining table in a snit is a weekly, if not a daily, event.

For the citizenry and residents, life goes on as usual. Trains run on time, people go to work, children go to school; the majority are well-fed, and prosperous. Who needs a government, anyway, one might ask? Behind the scenes, government-in-limbo is costing the nation untold millions each week. The nation's image has become tarnished. The international business community has become restive. And, voluble: The American Chamber of Commerce spoke for everyone last week when they stated in public, 'C'mon guys -- get your act together!' This, in a country where on-going efforts to attract foreign investment have not been spectacularly successful. B. ranks twenty among countries most attractive to foreign investors. (Our neighbor to the north comes in at number ten; the U.S. takes first place.)

The worst-case scenario would be what everybody (still) agrees is extremely unlikely: That the B. would split into three mini-nations based on language. The greatest issue of all would be the fate of the nation's capital city, also home to the European Community. The ramifications would indeed be international.

Last weekend the citizenry took to the streets, in a demonstration in the capital. Nearly 40,000 people marched together, from all the language groups, in a show of unity and protest. The numbers were impressive, on a frigid day, in a country where the people are not particularly demonstrative.

So, we shall see what happens, now. After the demonstration, Mr. _., the most likely contender for Prime Minister, proclaimed somewhat triumphantly, 'The People have spoken...', as if the People had endorsed him, personally. What will happen, I wonder, if everyone at the bargaining table now believes that he or she has been personally endorsed by 'The People'?