Imagine all the people
Home » Blog » Annabel McAleer » Imagine all the peopleWelcome to the new world order
Amazing what can change in a week, eh? Two elections down, and the world's got two dynamic new leaders poised to make all of our hopes and dreams come true.
Barack Obama has already ended racism, and is set to nip in the bud the war in Iraq, the global financial crisis and climate change in early 2009. And John Key will buy us all ponies.
I'm not even being sarcastic. Okay, maybe a bit. But there's a whole lot of hope in the air, and even if the thought of a National-led government doesn't exactly fill you with glee, events in the US have certainly put a shine on our own political shake-up.
The whole world is getting into the spirit. Gordon Brown, not usually an "I'd like to teach the world to sing" kind of guy, has come over all misty-eyed:
"While I see a world that is facing financial crisis and still diminished by conflict and injustice, I also see the chance to forge a new multilateralism that is both hard-headed and progressive," Brown said.
"And I believe that in our international co-operation on finance, climate change, terrorism and ending conflict, there is evidence of this new multilateralism at work in the world – fairer, more stable and more prosperous because it is rooted in cooperation and justice.
"And if we learn from our experience of turning unity of purpose into unity of action, together we can seize this moment of profound change to create, for the first time, the age of the truly global society, one where progressive multilateralism, not narrow unilateralism, is the norm."
Climate change campaigners have for years invoked the 'World War 2' approach to fixing the climate: banding together, putting individual politics aside and putting in place pragmatic measures (and personal sacrifices) to get through a very challenging time. Politicians responding to the global financial crisis have heard similar cries for bipartisanship—and responded.
John McCain's gracious defeat in the US election, and Barack Obama's inclusive acceptance speech have driven the point home. John Key will perhaps never utter the word "sacrifice", as Obama did, but he certainly seems to be trying to get in on the multipartisan spirit (with everyone except Labour, anyway).
Whether the Green Party erred by cutting off potential negotiations with National so early on is certainly being discussed, but the party is firmly standing by its decision. Their analysis of National's environmental record takes my hope quotient down a notch or two, but with the spirit of change in the air, it's nice to fill the lull between the election and our new government actually doing anything, with hope that maybe international (if not domestic) pressure will force them to re-think some of their environmental positions. Or buy us all ponies.
