ÿþ<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>OnlineColumnist®.com: Putin Punishes Georgia</title> <meta name="generator" content="Adobe GoLive 4"> <style type="text/css"> .style3 { height: 68px; } .MsoNormal {} h1 {margin-bottom:.0001pt; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; font-weight:normal; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; } .style4 { font-size: large; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial; } .style6 { height: 69px; } h2 {margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; } .style7 { font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold; } .style8 { font-size: small; } </style> </head> <body bgcolor="white" vlink="black"> <center> &nbsp;<table cool width="624" height="2719" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" gridx="16" showgridx gridy="16" showgridy> <tr> <td width="133" height="118" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"> <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="110" width="62" src="images/discobolos.logo.transp.gif" border="0"></a></td> <td width="7" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="482" colspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="140" class="style6"><img height="75" width="450" src="images/banner.GIF"></td> <td width="1" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" class="style6"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="79"></td> </tr> <tr height="39"> <td width="182" height="39"></td> <td width="300" height="39" valign="top" align="left" xpos="322"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="14" width="267" src="images/divisionofNEW.GIF" border="0"></a></td> <td width="1" height="39"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="39"></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="624" colspan="6" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" class="style3"> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="black" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#99ffcc" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"> <tr> <td align="center"> <div align="left"> <a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> HOME</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> &#8226; <a href="articlesindex.html">ARTICLES</a> &#8226; <a href="books.html">BOOKS</a> &#8226; <a href="teflon.html"> THE </a><a href="teflon.html">TEFLON</a><a href="teflon.html"> REPORT</a> &#8226; <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com"> REACTIONS</a> &#8226; <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">ABOUT DISCOBOLOS</a></strong></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr height="2"> <td width="133" height="2"></td> <td width="489" height="2576" colspan="3" rowspan="2" align="left" xpos="133" content valign="top" csheight="2573"> <p class="style4">Britain Sends Brown Packing</p> <p><b><font face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica">by John M. Curtis</font></b><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b><a href="books.html"><br> </a></b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b> (310) 204-8700</b></font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Copyright May 9, 2010<br>All Rights Reserved. </i></font>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <p class="MsoNormal"> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="style7">&nbsp;S</span><span class="style8">l</span>apping Prime Minister Gordon Brown at the polls, Britain s diverse electorate asked for change, something they haven t done since electing Labor Party s Tony Blair prime minister May 2, 1997.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Blair took the reins after a good 17 years of Tory Party rule, began when Baroness Margaret Thatcher succeeded Labor Party Prime Minister Leonard James Callaghan May 7, 1979.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Thatcher s popularity paralleled that, across the Atlantic, of U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who, like Thatcher, inherited a financial mess of epic proportions the worst economy since WW II.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Unlike the U.S. after WW II, Britain was in decline both as a colonial power and as a world leader.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>U.S. took a strong leadership position helping rebuild Europe and to a large degree reversing the U.K. s economic downturn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Having lost much of its colonial empire, Great Britain s economy contracted into recession.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Thatcher, the 1946 Oxford graduate in chemistry, rescued Britain with a new sense of pride and determination to revive the economy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>A staunch Russian hawk, Thatcher won praises from Reagan and other U.S. conservatives, adopting of the U.S. conservative manifesto in the U.K., balancing Britain s socialist ways with refreshing free market ideas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>When Thatcher finished her term Nov. 28, 1990, less than two years after Reagan left office, she passed the baton to fellow conservative John Major.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Like Reagan s successor, former President George H.W. Bush, Major couldn t continue Thatcher s charisma, though he road her coattails into office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Major couldn t catch Thatcher s momentum, leading to Blair s stunning victory May 2, 1997.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Since Blair handed the reins to Brown June 27, 2007, the Labor Party and the U.K. returned to its old mediocrity..</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Yesterday s victory for Tory Party s David Cameron, while not overwhelming, was nonetheless decisive, because of the Labor Party s 13-year run begun under the ever-popular Tony Blair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Winning 306 seats in the House of Commons, Cameron returned the Tories to respectability, despite Britons propensity toward English socialism, something the late British novelist George Orwell called  Ingsoc. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Following the 19th century industrial revolution, Britons grew wary of the Tories, known, if nothing else, for preserving Britain s stodgy resistance to upward mobility, favoring inherited wealth over achievement and innovation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Cameron capitalized on growing social and economic discontent, watching the Bank of England driven into more debt by a punishing global recession.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While he didn t get the full 336 parliament seats, Cameron is only 30 shy of a governable coalition.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Tories best bet of governing lies not with Brown s Labor Party but with Nick Clegg s Liberal Democrats, winning 57 seats in the House of Commons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Unlike conservatives in the U.S., Britain s Tories have more in common with both Labor and Liberal Democrats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Cameron has far more bad blood with Brown than Clegg, who, during recent debates, seemed to make the most sense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Clegg and Cameron agree on keeping British troops in Afghanistan, at least until U.S. President Barack Obama begins a phased withdrawal in 2011.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Both the Tories and Liberal Dems seek to make Britain more green and cut taxes for low-income families.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>They differ on Clegg s support of the euro, a currency looking lately like it s going the way of the dinosaurs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Cameron opposes Clegg s support for proportional representation, namely, apportioning seats based on percentages won in elections.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Joining Cameron s government has many advantages for the lesser-known Clegg, whose showing in the election wasn t overwhelming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Getting some representation in Cameron s government gives Clegg far for clout than his currently marginalized place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>It would seem to me very strange in an election that was dominated by the economy . . . if the government of the U.K. was held ransom over an issue that the voters did not see as their priority, said Tory legislator Liam Fox.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Fox was referring to Clegg s insistence on electoral reform at the expense of the economy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Cameron won t compromise on selling of the U.K. sovereignty for participation in the European Union.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Unlike Cameron, several members of the Tory Party have no intention of compromising with Clegg and Liberal Democrats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Liberal Dems, despite differences with Cameron, are expected to join forces with the Tories.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Voter backlash against Brown s Labor Party stems mainly from the U.K. s punishing recession that has forced the Bank of England into excessive <span style="mso-spacerun: yes">debt.&nbsp; </span>Cameron needs about 30 Liberal Democrat votes to cement a governing coalition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Ultra-liberal Dems won t get their way with Cameron on ending the current gerrymandering that leaves Britian s major political parties in power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Britain s electorate rejected Brown because he s too old-school, not hip enough for rank-and-file Britons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While Orwell once said,  hope lies in the proles, Cameron proved more affluent voters actually participate in Britain s electoral process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Above all else, Cameron and Clegg agree on ending Brown s lackluster reign as British prime minister.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Both see the need for dynamic new leadership capable of renewing Britain s lost faith in economic and foreign policy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Cameron wants to rescue the U.K. much the way Thatcher did a generation ago:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>By awakening, once again, British pride.</p> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <p class="MsoNormal"> <b>John M. Curtis </b>writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He&#x2019;s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of <a href="books.html">Dodging The Bullet</a> and <a href="books.html">Operation Charisma</a>.</p> </td> <td width="1" height="2576" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="2"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2"></td> </tr> <tr height="2574"> <td width="133" height="2574" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="1" height="2574"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2574"></td> </tr> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td width="133" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="133" height="1"></td> <td width="7" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="7" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="300" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="300" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="597"> <tr> <td><font size="1" face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica"> <hr noshade size="1"> </font><a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> Homecobolos> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">©1999-2005 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"> Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>