Here are a few notes from across the pond.
In the United Kingdom, the Conservative Party swept to an unexpectedly strong victory, winning 331 seats in the 650-seat House of Commons. That is a majority with a few seats to spare, meaning no need for a coalition. In Scotland, the left-wing, pro-independence Scottish National Party virtually ran the table, winning all but 3 of the 59 Scottish seats. Big losers included Labour, the Liberal Democrats, and the pollsters.
Ilya Somin at the Volokh Conspiracy notes that this may move the U.K. in the direction of genuine federalism. With Conservatives in control of the U.K. Parliament and the lefties triumphant up north, demands for more autonomy in Scotland can only increase. And what of England? Why should those lefty Scots make the laws for Scotland by themselves yet have a voice in laws that only affect England? Ilya notes,
Meanwhile, across the Channel, Marine Le Pen is reshaping the National Front to broaden its base and make it an actual political force to be reckoned with, rather than the outrageous, posturing sideshow it was under her wacko father. This has touched off quite a father-daughter feud, as The Economist explains.
The mainstreaming of National Front appears to be going so well that the incumbent President of France, Socialist Francois Hollande, might not even make it into the runoff next year. A poll last month showed him a distant third, Connexion reports. A Sarkozy-Le Pen runoff would surely mean the return of the best French President in living memory.
Will an overall conservative shift in Europe produce a reduced tendency to meddle in American domestic criminal justice policy? One can hope.
Ilya Somin at the Volokh Conspiracy notes that this may move the U.K. in the direction of genuine federalism. With Conservatives in control of the U.K. Parliament and the lefties triumphant up north, demands for more autonomy in Scotland can only increase. And what of England? Why should those lefty Scots make the laws for Scotland by themselves yet have a voice in laws that only affect England? Ilya notes,
many English Conservatives are advocating greater devolution to regional governments in England itself, including perhaps even a system of "English votes for English laws" under which only English members of parliament would get to vote on issues exclusive to England. What counts as an "English" issue, as opposed to a national one, is far from self-evident.One area where we might see continued movement toward federalism is criminal law. An England-only subparliament would be more strongly conservative and more willing to take a stand against EU meddling on such matters as life imprisonment.
Meanwhile, across the Channel, Marine Le Pen is reshaping the National Front to broaden its base and make it an actual political force to be reckoned with, rather than the outrageous, posturing sideshow it was under her wacko father. This has touched off quite a father-daughter feud, as The Economist explains.
The mainstreaming of National Front appears to be going so well that the incumbent President of France, Socialist Francois Hollande, might not even make it into the runoff next year. A poll last month showed him a distant third, Connexion reports. A Sarkozy-Le Pen runoff would surely mean the return of the best French President in living memory.
Will an overall conservative shift in Europe produce a reduced tendency to meddle in American domestic criminal justice policy? One can hope.
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