The political rigmarole is settled and Britain has a new Prime Minister and a new administration. It was a deal that was brokered based on pure reasoning, understanding, maturity and good political bargaining.
It was not preceded by thuggery, show of brawn and brawling as perhaps might have occurred in many African countries, including Ghana. The British example should be a model for many African countries.
And to us in Ghana the lessons learnt are many and significant. If it should be possible for two diametrically opposed ideologies like the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats to form a common front in a coalition government, then what would be wrong for say the CPP to join the NPP or the NDC to form a government?
And as a new kind of coalition administration, Nick Clegg had this to say: “I hope this is the start of the new politics I have always believed in – diverse, plural, where politicians of different persuasions come together, overcome their differences in order to deliver good government for the sake of the whole country.”
Scenarios similar to the British example have played up here in Ghana. But the backlash that individuals who upon the instructions of their political parties decided to work for the government party were so scathing that today many fine politicians who might not necessarily be with the so-called leading political parties, dread putting up their expertise at the disposal of the winning party.
Such “political intruders” were offered the worst form treatment by some of their allies to the extent that but for the desire and the love of working for mother Ghana, the arrangement would have been still birth.
But these are parties that campaigned on the altar of All Inclusiveness, of which other stakeholders in the party and their supporters believed that aside it being a major catch-phrase to win political power, it was the best form of getting everybody that matters to deal with the many myriad of problems affecting us as a country.
And as new Prime Minister David Cameron becomes the new occupant of Number10 Downing Street as the leader of the Conservatives, to be assisted by Nick Clegg the leader of the Liberal Democrats as deputy Prime Minister, their biggest task may be how to implement the agreement reached in the coalition arrangement.
This is in lieu of the basic ideological differences that the two traditions have. Many of such government have played up in countries like Israel and Japan where governments collapse in less than three months because parties in the agreement allowed their ideological stance to blur the practical situations confronting them.
It is indeed a test case for the two parties and the leadership should bear in mind that the success or otherwise of the arrangement would have effects on other countries that are either running a democratic government or are considering doing so; especially her former colonies that form the Commonwealth.
It would be more of a precedent in modern politics that students and actual political players would be making references to. So we are only looking out for the best in the arrangement.
There is no doubt that the new government would provide a new style of politics in Britain. It will also alter the way government operates in Britain.
Today believes a new page of history has been opened in the body politic of Britain. And hope that the new administration will stand the test and address many domestic problems affecting the British people.
Pronouncements by all three leading candidates in the run-up to the election suggested that they were not oblivious of Britain’s huge deficits and other major problems affecting their political and social lives.
The paper believes the current era provides the best opportunity yet for Britain to deal decisively with these issues. We say this in the wake of the new political arrangement – where no single party had the mandate to rule exclusively – where as a coalition government, the British people have a rare opportunity of tapping into the human resource base of both the Conservatives and the Democrats to ensure healthy growth of that beautiful country.
Today seizes this moment to congratulate Prime Minister David Cameron and Prime Minister deputy, Nick Clegg. So what can Africans expect from a Conservative-Liberal Democrats coalition government. We hope that the general overall British policy towards Africa would not change and would even further be improved upon by the new administration.
We on this paper hope that the new government will continue the path of past Prime Ministers Tony Blair and the immediate past Prime Minister Gordon Brown who helped immensely in poverty alleviation in Africa. Of course we as Africans would also have to play our part in this partnership with Britain.
With British domestic political and social problems, not forgetting her huge financial deficits we are aware that it will not be easy for the new coalition government to attend to Africa. The government would have to address the country’s domestic concerns before shifting focus to Africa and elsewhere. And we hope when that is done they would not leave Africa alone.
