Japan votes: Lib Dems out after 50+ year run

[Neil]

Very unexpected stuff.

Weird its took this long. Damn anti-democratic Japanese.

In times of great upheaval, it's not uncommon for a non-LDP type to enjoy a brief premiership.

Given that they have elections and all that, I don't think you can really call them anti-democratic.  Which is a shame, because democracy has failed.

[HisMajestyBOB]

Very unexpected stuff.

Weird its took this long. Damn anti-democratic Japanese.

It happened about 10-15 years ago, but the LDP was back in power after 10 months. Its weird how all the newspapers (Except The Economist) keep forgetting that this isn't the first time LDP has been out of power.

Though in this case, the opposition won by a much bigger margin, so they may well stay in for longer this time.

[Monoriu]

Very unexpected stuff.

Weird its took this long. Damn anti-democratic Japanese.

It happened about 10-15 years ago, but the LDP was back in power after 10 months. Its weird how all the newspapers (Except The Economist) keep forgetting that this isn't the first time LDP has been out of power.

Though in this case, the opposition won by a much bigger margin, so they may well stay in for longer this time.

That time was different.  The LDP was ousted by a coalition of like 8 small-medium parties, each with very different agendas.  The LDP remained the largest party, with many more seats than the next largest party.  The coalition fell apart very quickly.

This time the LDP is crushed by a single party, and it lost a ton of seats. 

[The Larch]

You guys checked the cooky parties that contended in this elections? There are some real gems out there. 

[jimmy olsen]

Very unexpected stuff.

Weird its took this long. Damn anti-democratic Japanese.

I don't see how you can call them anti-democratic when they've consistently had free fair elections, Japan is not Singapore and the LDP is not the PAP.

[Drakken]

Very unexpected stuff.

Weird its took this long. Damn anti-democratic Japanese.

Huh, Sweden has bee run by SAP thoroughly for the last hundred years, save for four governments since 1976, and no one would prend that Sweden wasn't democratic. 

[Neil]

Very unexpected stuff.

Weird its took this long. Damn anti-democratic Japanese.

Huh, Sweden has been more or less run by SAP thoroughly for the last hundred years, save for four governments, and no one would prend that Sweden isn't democratic. 

Jos has a bit of a double standard.  If a party of the centre or right wins successive elections, it is anti-democratic.  If a left-wing party does the same, it is the will of the people.

Jos is a bit of an idiot.  Then again, he's from the coal-mining parts of Britain, so it's a wonder he can use a computer.

[Viking]

Very unexpected stuff.

Weird its took this long. Damn anti-democratic Japanese.

Huh, Sweden has bee run by SAP thoroughly for the last hundred years, save for four governments since 1976, and no one would prend that Sweden wasn't democratic. 

So for 16 of the last 33 years there have been non-Labour governments?

[MadImmortalMan]

"The ruling party has betrayed the people over the past four years, driving the economy to the edge of a cliff, building up more than 6 trillion yen ($64.1 billion) in public debt, wasting money, ruining our social security net and widening the gap between the rich and poor," the Democratic Party said in a statement as voting began Sunday.

"And we're gonna do exactly the same thing, only faster!"

[Neil]

"The ruling party has betrayed the people over the past four years, driving the economy to the edge of a cliff, building up more than 6 trillion yen ($64.1 billion) in public debt, wasting money, ruining our social security net and widening the gap between the rich and poor," the Democratic Party said in a statement as voting began Sunday.

"And we're gonna do exactly the same thing, only faster!"

Equality is more important than a functioning economy.  It's alright to go back to stone-age barbarism, so long as we all go together.