Stardate 20010728.0611 (On Screen): Japan's Prime Minister, in last minute campaigning, announced that he would push through reform even in the face of opposition from his own party. This is a
really strange campain promise in a Parliamentary system, bordering on the nonsensical.
For an American Presidential candidate that would be a reasonable claim to make, because the voters directly elect the President and he serves a fixed term. So he's campaigning to get votes for himself. But the Prime Minister of Japan isn't directly elected. Rather, after the election whichever party has a majority in Parliament, or can put together a coalition, will select the Prime Minister. And Parliament has the ability to recall the Prime Minister at any time with a "vote of no confidence". By its nature, this system was deliberately designed to make it so that the PM does indeed represent the consensus view of the members of his party (or coalition), and if the PM then changes policy they'll kick him out.
So what Koizumi is really saying is "Vote for my party even if you think you disagree with them." That's pretty transparent. I wonder if it will work? (discuss)
