Guido's beloved FDP

Guido is very impressed with the result of the German election, particularly that of the third party, the pro-business, anti-tax, anti-regulation Free Democrats. And he chides the Lib Dems for not yet congratulating their 'liberal' German equivalents:

Cameron was quick to offer fraternal congratulations to Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats. So far no word from Clegg, the Free Democrats are their sister party and sit with the LibDems in the European Parliament.

The German FDP have had their best showing in decades on a pro-business, tax-cutting manifesto which has driven the Social Democrats out of the government. Most LibDems seem disinterested, only LiberalVision is ecstatic. Makes you wonder if they prefer permanent opposition…

Two quick points:

The FDP got 14.6% of the vote in Germany on Sunday. The Lib Dems here got 18.3% in 2005 on a perhaps less Fawkes-friendly ticket of raising taxes on the rich.

The FDP benefits from a much fairer, more proportional, electoral system which Guido presumably supports ... though I can find no mention whatsoever of electoral reform on his blog.

Sorry if this sounds insufferably po-faced or anything!

More on the ideology of Guido

Reading Terry Eagleton in the LRB today, this passage struck m as relevant to the previous post:

Liberty had traditionally meant not personal freedom, but freedom for certain privileged social groups – in effect, the licence of the lawless aristocrat. From Lord Byron to Oscar Wilde, the aristocrat and the anarchist have always been secret bedfellows. If the English love a character, they also love a lord, which is one reason Byron (who was literally an aristocrat) and Wilde (who was spiritually one) are held in such high esteem.

Where raving is liberty, and the new aristocrats are bankers. 'Dave the Rave - licence of the of the lawless aristocrat.' Not exactly a an election poster slogan, but is that him at around 00:14?

Vice on Staines

http://www.viceland.com/wp/2009/04/bringing-back-thatcherism-one-rave-at-a-time/

Interesting. There are few cool people in politics, let alone the Tories. Not that anyone who has ever worked in high finance could be remotely cool, of course.

Guido is essentially an 'anarchist', as Peter Wilby argues in this week's New Statesman. Libertarianism and raving (and drugs) are obvious ideological bedfellows, of course.

No mention of the young Staines's alleged wearing of 'Hang Nelson Mandella' t-shirts, either.