A government of national unity

These are difficult times. We seem to be locked in a political bind with no solution. Endless argument lead to endless division. But wait, there is a possible solution – a government of national unity.

According to Wikipedia, a government of national unity is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other national emergency.

If ever there was a situation that could be described as a national emergency, at least from a political perspective, we are in one now.  The Brexit debacle has been described as the worst political crisis since the Suez crisis in 1956, which historians agree signified the end of Great Britain’s role as one of the world’s major powers. Once again we have got ourselves in a knot and global opinion of the United Kingdom ranges from incredulity to mockery.

So why not a government of national unity? On the face of it this option makes sense. Get the best political brains around the cabinet table to thrash out a way through this mess that is in the best interests of all the people of the nation.

But before we go there, think about what this is saying. If we don’t have a government of national unity in place today then we must have something that is the opposite of this – a government of national disunity, one that divides the country and one that does not fight in the interests of all people of the nation.

Here is the problem. All governments should be of national unity. All politicians should be working for the best interest of all its citizens and not just those that reflect their own views. We should not need to be in a special arrangement or in a national emergency for this to happen. Unity is the fundamental role of government anyway.

Instead we have party politics which ensures a divise approach to governance where one party wins and one loses. Politics should be a win win situation.

We always should strive for national unity. It is party politics that is the problem.