After seven years of Brexit talks, Europe has emerged as the clear winner

Re:After seven years of Brexit talks, Europe has emerged as ... by Tiktaalik on Tuesday March 07, 2023 @09:56PM (#35064624)

With the HST issue, it wasn't necessarily the democracy that was the fault but the mechanism of direct democracy referendum. Also the culprit with Brexit.

There's a reason our democracies are representative democracies. It allows things to slow down and our representatives to have cooler heads and make informed decisions.

In contrast a referendum is easily instantly hijacked and there's never any guarantee that the way people are voting in the referendum has anything actually to do with the referendum issue.

In BC's case with the HST the vote on the tax quickly became a way to poke the unpopular Premier Gordon Campbell in the eye, and many people voted against the HST to make a point against a government that they were mad at for other reasons.

Referendums are bad bad bad.

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Re:After seven years of Brexit talks, Europe has emerged as ... by Gud on Wednesday March 08, 2023 @12:14AM (#35065523)

I disagree completely with this point of view. Look to Switzerland for a functioning direct democracy.

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Re:After seven years of Brexit talks, Europe has emerged as ... by Tiktaalik on Wednesday March 08, 2023 @12:05PM (#35071591)

Women only got the vote in Switzerland in 1971.

Referendums were effectively used to limit their rights for decades upon decades longer than other democracies.

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Re:After seven years of Brexit talks, Europe has emerged as ... by Gud on Wednesday March 08, 2023 @02:55PM (#35073930)

Things move slower in Switzerland. Eventually they adapt good ideas. That is why they're so stable but not always progressive. Switzerland is a very diverse country politically and culturally.

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