- Ian Brodie sends notes from a recent conference at which participants concluded that parliamentary democracies have made the transition to democracy in Eastern and Central Europe better than the presidential systems because they make room for opposition.
- And I hope readers noted Chris Moore’s comments on recent events in Italy. Moore’s always good on parliamentary developments. I’m now citing Chris Moore’s Canadian History Blog: “Italy’s new prime minister (and finance minister) Mario Monti, who does not hold a seat in the Italian parliament, has appointed a new cabinet, and none of its members hold a seat in parliament either. It’s impressive how little concern anyone seems to express over this. They are technocrats, see, they have a job to do. Democratic responsibility? Meh. Now, in principle, anyone who holds the confidence of the legislative majority can serve in government in a parliamentary democracy. Canada has had cabinet ministers and sometimes even prime ministers without Commons seats. But the whole government? And for years to come? What is the mechanism for accountability to the legislature, to the people’s elected representatives? It’s striking how little anyone seems to care.”
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Do you have a link to the conference that Ian Brodie attended? I can’t find a record of it online.