Republika and Delo on Elections in Spain and Australia

Ljubljana, 4 March - PRESS/SLOVENIA/REPUBLIKA
Common to the elections held this weekend in Spain and Australia is that in both cases voters denied support to candidates who proved during their previous mandates to be extremely consistent, daily Republika writes Monday. In spite of their numerous achievements and mistakes, both presidents were primarily remembered for their being extremely uncompromising. The voters based their choices mainly on the candidate's personal characteristics. Jose Maria Aznar is a man who turned his back to the historic orientation of his party, declaring himself a "son of democracy" and adapting to actual needs of Spanish voters. He proved to be capable of rapid changes of mind. History of the 20th century has shown that candidates who presented no clear value systems in their election campaigns and made pragmatism a value in itself were most favoured by voters. Resolving each problem as it appeared, they were usually successful. Regimes with elaborate and ideologically clear value system on the other hand ended up disastrously, writes the commentator offering Hitler and Stalin as examples. Consequently, if you want an honest leader, chose the one that seems all but that. If you want a principled one, vote for the one who has the least principles. If you want your candidate to keep his promises, give your voice to the one, who made the least promises. And, if a candidate's program tells you exactly what he plans to do, chose anyone else, suggests Miran Starič, who claims that politics in a democratic society is a process of concording interests, which means adjusting ideas.