Edward Lucas*: What Britain has to learn from Eastern Europe
Britain has a lot to learn from Latvia. And from Poland. And from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and almost every other country in the post-communist Europe. In these countries (as in most of western Europe), coalition politics is normal. Democracy has two phases: first you fight the election to get the most votes and parliamentary seats possible. Then you try to get the best deal possible for your voters, policies and principles. That necessarily involves compromise, both about what gets done and who does it. Some leading party figures may not fit into a coalition: that means that they step down or stay outside. It?s no big deal?negotiating those deals and making them work is what politicians are supposed to be good at.
