Comments by "Luredreier" (@Luredreier) on "Is France Heading for a Sixth Republic?" video.

  1. ​ @Jonas_M_M In a proportional parliamentarian system large parties like that ends up split up, so people on the left in the far right block who would be able to work with the center right would probably be their own party, the center right would probably be multiple parties etc, etc. And people would negotiate to find solutions. Don't make calling a new election a easy way out where a party may hope to win because they hate the other guys more like in a first past the post system, instead other parties will gain on those new elections. Allow laws to be passed and cabinets to come to power if there's no majority voting against them Instead of requiring a majority in favour, that way a party can still negotiate for favours in order to abstain from voting against a cabinet being formed but still flight them down the line on other issues allowing for lots of dynamic alliances where all political parties are potential allies etc. After all, if the far right and far left wants the same thing for a change on something they don't have to vote for the others suggestions (something that voters might not like if they don't know the details) but they can refrain from voting against the other, likewise with the extremes vs the center etc. It's a pretty decent system that we've used here in the nordic countries for a long time now. About 2/3 of all cabinets in Norway since the war has involved the labour party, often because parties in the center has started out on the left then switched side, or at least refrained from voting against labour when the right didn't behave, in the middle of a term. No new elections, just a change of prime minister midterm to that of the biggest political party, the labour party (they've been the biggest since the war) and no majority impact on your average citizen. Honestly it's a good system giving all the parties power and a incentive towards cooperation as anyone may be a potential ally. Even the extreme opposite side of the political spectrum could be a ally do you don't want to antagonize them too much.
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  2. It's more complicated then that. I'm not French. But this isn't about raising the retirement age, doing that might eventually be needed, but this is about elitism. France has a first past the post electoral system like the UK. One area where I'd say the South African system is actually better then the French system. And the French system also gives the president the power to force through decisions despite the parliament being against something. The French people is upset that instead of letting the parliament vote on laws or having a proper national discussion where everyone has the opportunity to have a input (something France has done in the past) Macron just forced through legislation despite there being alternatives. Higher taxes is possible. Incentives for working longer is possible. Increased immigration is possible. All of these would help reduce the issue that the pension reform was intended to solve, more people getting older in France and not enough being born to grow up and pay for them. In a proportional parliamentarian system a compromise would likely have been formed. Perhaps a slight reduction in red tape in migrating into the country, perhaps offering free education for foreigners and allowing them to settle after the education like Germanic countries have practiced (despite most leaving for home helping out there this process still leads to enough bright minds staying to justify the expense in terms of tax income while also increasing the productivity of other citizens allowing them to pay more taxes) Perhaps incentives to work longer with a increased pension if you stay longer etc? Perhaps more funding for childcare etc to increase the birth rates? And there's definitely people who can afford to pay higher taxes too... In my own country it was actually the labour party lead government that implemented the pension reforms in 2001. So the left isn't incapable of making reforms when needed. But this kind of decisions shouldn't be made by one side of society alone, it should involve all of it as it impacts everyone. The existing budgets could afford the pension system as it was for a few more years. Yet Macron decided to reform it, not because someone twisted his arm, but to afford tax reductions for him and his allies in the elite... So it already looked bad before he started bypassing the parliament...
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  3. 3:00 Having many governments doesn't need to be a problem. As long as it doesn't impact everyday people it's actually a good thing when governments are replaced.
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  4. ​ @astronicart  I would suggest full proporsjonality like here in Norway. But with two tiers. Multiple smaller constituencies with no voter threshold where seats are distributed proportionally within the constituency, just merge some of your current constituencies for this. If there's any issues some constitutes can be given additional seats at this level. Then another level of proportional representation in a full country constituency where seats are awarded proportionally, but taking into account seats already awarded at a lower level. Since France is big you could also make that system three tiered if desired. The higher/bigger tiers can distribute seats between parties based on the whole constituency while also spreading the seats around said constituency. In Norway 150 of the seats are in 19 smaller constituencies, and 19 seats are at a higher level. Higher tier seats and include a voter threshold to encourage merging of smaller parties without discouraging splitting of smaller ones or stopping smaller parties from forming. So you could for instance have constituencies made up of 5-7 seats, 3-5 seats decided locally, 1 seat going together with the 1 from several others in the area to make up 3-5 in a region for the regional proportionality, then the last going to a national level, or you could have 4-6 seats pr constituency and just have a bit more constituencies at the mid tier so one of the mid tier seats is reserved for the national level? Something like that. Each region is then guaranteed a high level of representation while the relative power between the political parties is still governed by the total number of seats at a national level. It helps avoid places like Paris having all the power while the regions are ignored, while also giving high population areas a say. Small political parties can be represented but some seats can be excluded from the smaller parties making it easier for the larger ones to actually forming a government without needing every single small party on board, yet they may end up as king makers occasionally ensuring that a vote for them isn't wasted.
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  5. ​ @Erydien While the fourth republic wasn't perfect it was certainly closer to ideal then this monstrosity...
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  6. ​ @julymalamb The burning has always been unnecessary, and is concerning. But strikes and protests are definitely justified.
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  7. ​ @zwyxy A pension reform will eventually be needed. Europeans don't have enough kids, so the tax burden pr tax payer will have to increase if nothing is changed because fewer people are paying for the pensions of more people. But there's many different ways of reforming such systems. And there are other alternatives that can help quite a bit in reducing the impact of the lowering population. Like increased immigration. Or increasing the productivity of the economy and therefore the tax income.
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  8. ​​ @jameskillops4314 No, when you vote for a president directly it's a single person position. And that is a problem. Because it's a binary election result, meaning that if you have 10 candidates getting 10% of the votes each one person wins even if the majority of the population disagree with this persons politics. And sure, France has a runoff system, but even so that left wing voters where forced to vote for Macron because La Pen had a few more votes then the left wing candidate and Macron despite prioritizing the elite at least isn't a racist like La Pen... In South Africa there's other issues holding you back, not the electoral system as such. Nordic countries have proportional representation just like South Africa, but our countries are well run. Stop voting for ANC and things will improve. South Africa needs to develop a democratic tradition... With other parties actually forming a realistic opposition... It might take some years. The labour party essentially ran Norway alone for several years after the war since they ruled at the outbreak and lead the government in exile. So just like ANC they had many votes due to historical actions rather then actual policies. But eventually their grip on power where lost. And now we're switching between the political blocks quite a bit...
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  9.  @jameskillops4314  Canada and France both have poor governments that's not really all that democratic... The only anglophone country that has a good electoral system is New Zealand. Also, comparing economies with Europe is hardly fair...
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  10.  @jameskillops4314  I'm not French, nor do I live in France... I live in Scandinavia, and from our point of view they're not doing great...
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