Looks like the LDP is on track to retain tenuous control of the Japanese government. Leadership from the LDP and DPFP, which quadrupled its representation in the lower house and is now the third-largest opposition party, agreed to a "partial coalition" through which the parties will cooperate on fiscal reforms. DPFP will presumably suppo…
Looks like the LDP is on track to retain tenuous control of the Japanese government. Leadership from the LDP and DPFP, which quadrupled its representation in the lower house and is now the third-largest opposition party, agreed to a "partial coalition" through which the parties will cooperate on fiscal reforms. DPFP will presumably support whoever the LDP nominates to be prime minister when the Diet reconvenes on November 11. So the LDP and Komeito will lead a minority government while essentially maintaining a confidence and supply agreement with DPFP. Ishiba will look to stay on as prime minister, though his party could very well cut him loose. Even if he prevails, I can't imagine his premiership lasting more than a year, and we'll likely have another election sooner rather than later.
Personally, I'm surprised DPFP is willing to prop up the LDP with minimal fuss, given the latter's deep unpopularity. This could very well work out for them if they receive credit for popular reforms (they're demanding a raise in the threshold at which the income tax takes effect, which will hugely benefit low-wage workers). Still, the optics are very risky, as they aggressively campaigned against the LDP ahead of the election. Interesting times ahead.
I can see the logic for DPFP. They're far enough in the back that they are unlikely to gain enough to be at the top of a coalition, or a major partner. If LDP stays unpopular then most of the punishment in the next election will go to them instead of the minor party that helped prop them up — especially as DPFP is not a full coalition partner.
In exchange they hope to get some policy wins. Small risk, small reward.
When's the last time Lib-Dem held power in the UK? The most recent Lib-Dem PM I can find is David Lloyd George, who was PM from 1916-1922. They had not been exercising power for a long, long time.
Yes, they did a lot worse after serving in a coalition government... But today they're back ahead of where they were in 2010. They spent 2015-2024 as largely irrelevant, but in exchange they got to be in government for five years. If they weren't in government for those five years, they likely would still have been irrelevant, just with more seats.
Indeed. And that was back when the then Liberal Party - they became the Lib Dems in the 1980s when the Liberal Party merged with the Social Democratic Party - was THE major party of the left in the UK. It was only when Labour supplanted them as the main part of the British left that Churchill crossed back to the Tories. It's interesting how Labour (ironically spelt Labor in Australia) became the dominant left wing party of the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, but not in Canada. Maybe due to American influence, but the closest equivalent in Canada is the NDP.
I thought the degree to which the Keir Starmer-led Labour Party (and, earlier, the Tony Blair-led Labour Party) is a left-wing party was open to debate?
Looks like the LDP is on track to retain tenuous control of the Japanese government. Leadership from the LDP and DPFP, which quadrupled its representation in the lower house and is now the third-largest opposition party, agreed to a "partial coalition" through which the parties will cooperate on fiscal reforms. DPFP will presumably support whoever the LDP nominates to be prime minister when the Diet reconvenes on November 11. So the LDP and Komeito will lead a minority government while essentially maintaining a confidence and supply agreement with DPFP. Ishiba will look to stay on as prime minister, though his party could very well cut him loose. Even if he prevails, I can't imagine his premiership lasting more than a year, and we'll likely have another election sooner rather than later.
Personally, I'm surprised DPFP is willing to prop up the LDP with minimal fuss, given the latter's deep unpopularity. This could very well work out for them if they receive credit for popular reforms (they're demanding a raise in the threshold at which the income tax takes effect, which will hugely benefit low-wage workers). Still, the optics are very risky, as they aggressively campaigned against the LDP ahead of the election. Interesting times ahead.
I can see the logic for DPFP. They're far enough in the back that they are unlikely to gain enough to be at the top of a coalition, or a major partner. If LDP stays unpopular then most of the punishment in the next election will go to them instead of the minor party that helped prop them up — especially as DPFP is not a full coalition partner.
In exchange they hope to get some policy wins. Small risk, small reward.
Counterpoint: how did it work out for the Liberals to prop up the Tories in the UK?
When's the last time Lib-Dem held power in the UK? The most recent Lib-Dem PM I can find is David Lloyd George, who was PM from 1916-1922. They had not been exercising power for a long, long time.
Yes, they did a lot worse after serving in a coalition government... But today they're back ahead of where they were in 2010. They spent 2015-2024 as largely irrelevant, but in exchange they got to be in government for five years. If they weren't in government for those five years, they likely would still have been irrelevant, just with more seats.
Interesting perspective, but that ignores the possibility that they might have broken through as a principled opposition party.
Indeed. And that was back when the then Liberal Party - they became the Lib Dems in the 1980s when the Liberal Party merged with the Social Democratic Party - was THE major party of the left in the UK. It was only when Labour supplanted them as the main part of the British left that Churchill crossed back to the Tories. It's interesting how Labour (ironically spelt Labor in Australia) became the dominant left wing party of the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, but not in Canada. Maybe due to American influence, but the closest equivalent in Canada is the NDP.
I thought the degree to which the Keir Starmer-led Labour Party (and, earlier, the Tony Blair-led Labour Party) is a left-wing party was open to debate?
They're still to the left of the Tories.
So is Atilla the Hun. Oh, wait – the Tories sent him to Rwanda.