But the win didn't come easy. At the end of the August 21st elections, the Parliament was hung with neither the conservatives or Labour having sufficient seats to form the Government.
It all came down to 3 independent MPs who would eventually become the Kingmakers, and today, they made their decision.
Its an interesting case study, and i can't help but draw comparisons with us here in Malaysia. Elections will probably be late next year or in the first half of 2012. The Opposition has gathered a lot of steam since 2008 with the people, especially the burgeoning middle class and below-40 years old electorate. With a sufficiently strong voter turnout from these two groups, its not beyond the realm of comprehension to see the Opposition making even greater gains in Parliament compared to their showing in GE2008.
What if it came down to a hung Parliament? I wonder if we have the fortitude to hold things together for more than 2 weeks the way the Australians have. In a country deeply divided by religious, cultural and racial chasms, the people are openly suspicious of each other and will be expected to vote the political party that most closely resembles their identity, rather than the party that most closely meets the needs of the nation.
With everything finely balanced, neither BN or PR having a mandate, who will be the Kingmakers? Will PAS be tempted to breakaway from PR in return for significant concessions by BN? Will the MIC, disgruntled by the way they've been treated, leave BN in return for a bigger slice of the pie? Will money politics come into play, and several independent MPs turning into millionaires overnight for their support?
And while all of this is happening, what will happen to the people on the ground? Will the racism and religious supremism, fueled by the passions for control of the country, take over cool heads and lead us down the path to violence? Perhaps, BN faced with imminent defeat will stoke those fires as high as they can, in the hope that with riots and violence on the streets, it can convince the King to suspend the Government, declare a state of emergency and buy time for BN to "sort things out" -- another massive Ops Lalang?
I could go on and on with the speculation. That's what happens when you leave the imagination to its own flights of fancy.
While rational minds prevail today, take this opportunity to study Australia. Their system of Government closely resembles ours and their society shares many of the same problems that plagues ours, though perhaps at a lesser degree. While it's yet to be seen how Gillard will be able to govern effectively without a firm mandate from the people, Australia was able to overcome the hung parliament without tearing itself apart. Malaysia, very soon, may need to face the same.
