Green PartyChurch elections
As I mentioned earlier in the context of the Metal Mass, parish council elections in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland is coming next month (November). I am surprised that (it seems to me) some members of political parties participate explicitly as candidate lists in these elections. For example, the Centre Party tendency has the “Church Amidst” (Kirkko keskelle arkea) list; National Coalition supporters have “Right On” (Oikealla asialla); and the Social Democrats organize the “Come All” (Tulkaa kaikki) list. Some even publish their manifestos: for example, the Greens (list name ”Green Pastures” Vihreät niityt, a pun at Psalm 23) in the Lutheran fashion post their Green parish election theses. This is almost unthinkable either in Britain or in North America.
Becoming ‘British’
Imagine a British coalition Government with Liberal Democrats and Conservatives, with Nick Clegg and David Cameron as prime minister and deputy.
In December 2002, before we knew about hurricane Katrina, I visited New Orleans for a last piece of Americana before moving to Europe. I saw the Gulf of Mexico display at the Audubon Aquarium of Americas, and was struck uncomfortable that it was sponsored by the oil companies. Now we know how these do not sit well together, thanks to the reminder that was the 
If the results of the the present elections turn out to be (as Nick Clegg intimated) a ‘two-horse race’, that is to say a return to the Tory–Liberal duopolistic hegemony, tactically perhaps I (as a Green) can comfortably say ‘bring on the Liberal surge’, expecting electoral and other important reforms to follow. But the obvious strategic concern is whether by this we are indeed catapulting British politics into the 21st century, or we are actually taking a retrograde step back to 19th-century politics. 
Political events since mid-2009, especially the parliamentary expenses scandal, accentuated long-standing symptoms in the British body politic, eliciting predictions of doom (in the form of further voter disengagement, among others) and calls for reform. Among these, many an opinion poll suggested the possibility of a hung Parliament, and many a campaign group called for a referendum on reforming the electoral system of first-past-the-post (FPTP). Peter Tatchell outlined the case for electoral reform in the inaugural issue of this Review. Beyond this, the wide Left ought also to think a few more steps ahead. 
