...To say that the task that Hatoyama Yukio and his fellow leaders of the Minshuto have set themselves is daunting would be putting it very, very mildly. One must be wary of using the label ‘revolutionary’, but if they succeed this would be appropriate in the context of Japan's controlling political institutions. Considering their manifesto there can hardly be any doubt that correcting the severe imbalance in the relationship between Japan's elected politicians and career bureaucrats is their priority. What they want is nothing out of the ordinary for most other countries... karelvanwolferen.com
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
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Many thanks for leading the way to Karel's site!
ReplyDeleteNo problem. We should really thank James Fallows of the Atlantic. I would have never found van Wolferen's site had it not been for Fallows' recent post.
ReplyDeleteRevolutionary? In what sense? In the sense of politicians running the show instead of high-level bureaucrats? In terms of economic policies or policies vis-a-vis the US national security state, there is very little to expect and nothing by way of revolutionary. This is the party, afterall, that was largely crapped out of the LDP and ran on ideas like 'reform for reform's sake' and 'no liberalization too drastic because free market forces are our God now'. You have to admire Koizumi and his gang. Inept at ruling, yes, but good at getting re-elected. They basically ran against their own party and beat the hapless opposition too.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'd agree with van Wolferen's caveat of "if they succeed," then we could call it revolutionary...a big "if."
ReplyDeleteI am especially skeptical that they will be able to succeed in wrestling control from the bureaucrats.