Global News Journal
Beyond the World news headlines
Expenses: They order this matter differently in Sweden
A scandal about expenses claimed by British members of parliament has damaged the already low standing of British politicians and helped Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s Labour Party to its worst opinion poll showing since polling began.
The MPs argue that what they are doing is within the rules – correct, but missing the point that it is out of line with public sentiment especially at a time of national belt-tightening.
While some of the claims run into thousands of pounds for mortgage interest or home decoration, others are for trivial sums for items like dogfood or, bizarrely, a tampon claimed by a male MP. Hardly the stuff of kleptocracy.
But in some countries elected officials face savage retribution if their expense claims do not meet public standards.
Take Sweden. A prosperous, egalitarian country ranked joint 1st (with Denmark and New Zealand) out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s annual survey of corruption. Under constitutionally protected freedom of information rules, even everyone’s tax returns are in the public domain.
Elected in 1982 to Sweden’s parliament for the Social Democrats as the country’s youngest MP, Mona Sahlin rose quickly through the ministerial ranks. When in 1995 Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson announced his intention to resign, she was the sole candidate to replace him.
Israel goes to the polls via the internet
Its election time in Israel which, despite the weighty issues at stake, is always something of a let-down for people who like a bit of U.S. style political pageantry.
There are few, if any, stump speeches, rallies, debates. There is, however, blanket campaigning in the traditional media and of course on the internet as well. Here are a few campaign ads from the internet kicking off with Ehud Barak and his Labour Party.
Like all the major candidates Barak has his own website from where you can link to dedicated pages on YouTube, Facebook, Flickr et al.
Tzipi Livni’s Kadima Party are no new-media slouches either and have used every trick in the video editing manual to depict opponent Benjamin Netanyahu as a man prone to panic.
Right-wing party Yisrael Beytenu has seen its standings improve in recent polls and goes with a fairly straight-forward approach on one of its big election themes, demanding something be done about Israeli Arab lawmakers whose loyalty to a Jewish State of Israel is open to question.
Rosemary, on the contrary, the Hebrews/Jews/Israelis are the ones with the scriptures telling them to put their enemies to the sword, man, woman and child, for four generations.Even if that weren’t the case, the Israelis have used unprecedented restraint. Their Moslem neighbors are lucky I’m not the Israeli leader, ’cause I’d take all the land, up to and including Cairo, Damascus, Beirut and Aman, and use the land in between for a buffer zone/impact area/combined arms field training sites!
Now talk about following the rule of the law. Frankly I am very disappointed with Gordon Brown’s governing skills. Scandal after scandals. The problem is the alternative is no more palatable than the current government. Sad decline of British Politics.