Posted by Sari
UK Election The system might be (and is) totally antiquated and produce questionable results, but you can’t deny that the process itself is great fun. Firstly there is BBC’s graphics. There is Peter Snow with his jolly orange shirt gallivanting around an empty space which is filled for the viewer with all sorts of funky graphics. Who cares about red states and blue states or a boring bar graph about how SDP is gainig a seat and Center Party loosing two, when you can have three-way battlelines with tiny little chess-figures representing vulnerable seats, not to mention the swingometer.
Even more fun are the parties. And I don’t mean Labour, Conservatives, Liberals or even SNP, but parties like Church of Militant Elvis Party, who apparently believe that Evis is alive and living somewhere in Arabia as a sheikh. Or New Millennium Bean Party. And of course there is the classic, late Screaming Lord Sutch's Official Monster Raving Looney Party whose candidates this year include Jedediah Headbanger, R.U. Seerius and Boney Moroney. Because of the ancient system the results of a particular seat are announced while all the candidates stand in line on a stage. Both Monty Python and Blackadder have spoofed this ritual successfully, but the unreal thing is that reality does not really differ from the comedy.
The Church of Militant Elvis party would certainly have gotten my vote, what with making elecoral promises like the following by Lord Biro:
"When elected our M.P. would like to go the Antarctic, stand in front of the ice bergs and shout 'Stop Melting You Big White Bastards'. It won't do much good but it's more than Bush & Blair are doing - Vote Lord Biro!"
Way to go...
Posted by: Mekku | May 07, 2005 at 17:47
Where are your comments on the Finnish presidential elections? I can see comments on current American and British politics, but nothing on the up-coming Finnish elections. Why?
Posted by: Katariina | January 10, 2006 at 12:49