Cooperation in PR Countries is the Norm - Our MPs to Learn with Good Faith
It took 7 months, but the all-party committee on Electoral Reform is finally in action! You can read all about it here: http://www.democraticinstitutions.gc.ca/eng/content/electoral-reform They had their first meeting on June 21, they will hear expert witnesses over the first part of the summer, begin travelling Canada in late summer, and launch a website to get more feedback from Canadians in September. Between now and October 14, MPs have been invited to hold town halls in their ridings and submit reports to the committee. If you haven't already, please take a moment to ask your MP to let you know if your riding is having a town hall. With the composition of the all-party committee proportional to the popular vote - an historic first - we're about to see a tiny model of PR in action. Politicians who have only ever functioned in relation to each other under a winner-take-all system will work together - to listen, learn and design a system which makes this kind of representation and cooperation the norm. In the last federal election, 63% of voters endorsed this plan. This Parliament, with our help and support, is about to leave a legacy. If we succeed, it will be the biggest step towards voter equality since women got the right to vote.
Which brings us the topic of cooperation. How can they possibly succeed in balancing partisan interests to move ahead on such an important policy issue? The answer is: Parties in over 80% of OECD countries do this every day. And it's working.
In Most Democracies, Cooperation is the Norm
While our parties initially had trouble even talking to each other about a process to talk to each other when the partisan stakes are high, parties in countries with PR have been cooperating routinely for years - on the campaign trail (sometimes), in coalition negotiations, and in government.
It may be routine for most matters, but occasionally it gets very difficult. What happens then? With no better options, even under trying conditions, parties in PR countries can find the compromise and creativity that leads to success. Here are a few exceptional examples of how parties can stretch their limits for the good of the country when the voting system provides them with a different set of incentives than winner-take-all. Germany
In 2013, Angela Merkel's party received a record high 42% of the vote. In Canada, that might have given her 100% of the power, but in Germany, it landed her 5 seats short of a majority. The problem was that her planned right wing coalition partner unexpectedly failed to reach the 5% threshold to win seats. She needed a partner but who could it be? Imagine the Conservatives teaming up with the NDP and that's something like what happened in Germany. After five weeks of intense negotiations, Merkel's CDU formed a "grand coalition" with the Social Democrats which included deals on key policies such as minimum wage and taxes. I'm sure at some point the pundit cynics in the media said they couldn't reach a deal and everything was going to fall apart. It took time, but they could, and they did. Their stable government now represents 67% of voters.
Sweden
Last year's election in Sweden saw an interesting outcome. The centre-right Alliance (4 parties which had governed together in a coalition and campaigned to continue that) lost to the left wing Social Democrats, who formed a minority coalition government with the Greens. Sweden has a long history of stable coalitions.
So what was the problem?
Well, the problem was that the refugee crisis (Sweden had taken in 150,000 refugees - 10,000 a week) had given rise to an extreme right wing anti-immigration party - the Sweden Democrats - which commanded 12.9% of the vote and 49/349 seats in the House, and their poll numbers were rising at an alarming rate. Neither the centre-right Alliance or the governing left coalition had any interest in working with the Sweden Democrats. But neither could govern on their own. When budget time came the Sweden Democrats voted with the centre-right Alliance against the government's budget, and for the Alliance's alternative budget. It looked like a new election was on the horizon. It would have been the first snap election since 1958. The centre-right Alliance could have forced it, and possibly installed themselves as the minority coalition, where they would also need the support of the Sweden Democrats to pass their budgets, who were prepared to make unacceptable demands every time. (Did I mention none of the parties wanted to work with the Donald Trumps of Sweden?) The doomsday pundits were out in force, until... Six parties found a way to cooperate. The centre-right Alliance agreed to support the left coalition budgets in exchange for some concessions, such as a reduction in the number of refugees. Not the kind of reduction that the Sweden Democrats wanted by any means (basically, shut the doors) but a difficult compromise. This took the wind out of the Sweden Democrat's polling numbers and produced a stable government. It wouldn't be a fun time for either the left or right to be in government. They cooperated for the common good.
The most likely outcome of the emergence of the the Sweden Democrats (meaning neither the left or the right coalitions are able to get a majority) will be a more creative coalition next time. Ireland
Ireland has two large centrist parties, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, two smaller parties, and Independents. What usually happens is that Fine Gael or Fianna Fail is able to form a majority coalition government with one of the smaller parties, such as Labour. What happened in March is that voters were so fed up with both of them and the left wing Labour party that they elected a record number of independents (23) instead. Both major parties got about 25% of the vote. Suddenly neither of two major parties were able to form a majority coalition with anybody except each other. And one of them refused to work with the other. They cynical pundits were once again out in force! No government in sight, irreconcilable differences, is another election coming...
But after 63 days a deal was struck. Fine Gael will form a minority government - with 4 Independents in the cabinet. Some days I imagine our parties would have a heart attack (diversity is all good in theory as long as it's within the partisan tent). Agreements include a commitment to raise the minimum wage, increase pensions and reduce prescription drug charges. Something for everyone, and as the agreement states: “We recognize that we do not have a monopoly on good ideas. We are open to good ideas from any quarter.” Will it last a full term, as Ireland's governments almost always do? Who knows. The deal is in place until 2018.
Back in Canada Meanwhile, back in Canada, our representatives are embarking on a process to make sure that almost every voter - including those of us reading this blog, our children, our children's children - can elect a representative aligned with their values. They'll be making sure that every policy decision from 2019 forward will have the support of parties representing a real majority of voters. There could hardly be a more important task. With commitment, good faith, creativity, and a lot of support from Canadians, they are well placed to succeed.
