BRITAIN IN A MUDDLE – AT 10:02 A.M. ET:  Britain has only a caretaker government as a result of Thursday's election.  With no party getting 50 percent, a "hung Parliament" has resulted, and the parties must negotiate for a coalition.

The talks do not appear to be going well.  The largest party, in terms of Thursday's vote, the Conservatives, are negotiating with the third-largest party, the Liberal Democrats, to form some kind of arrangement.

It's really quite an absurdity, as the parties have nothing in common, and both voters and commentators are starting to notice.  The Lib Dems are a leftist group of eccentrics who favor some rather extreme policies.  Janet Daley in The Telegraph comments:

And the electorate, which was accustomed to thinking of the Lib Dems as a harmless, all-purpose vehicle for protest – a blank screen on to which they could project all their various political discontents – suddenly realised what this party really stood for: Europhilia of the most rampant variety, Britain’s retreat from the world stage as a military power, and an amnesty for illegal immigrants. And now, the realisation dawned, there was an actual risk that they could gain power and influence of a substantial kind! Good grief, what were we thinking?

And the Lib Dems want something else – "reform" of the British electoral system.  (When someone shouts "reform" your first instinct should be to put on a helmet and run in the opposition direction.)  They want a system that will strengthen "proportional representation," so third and fourth parties have more of a voice.

Talk about a formula for disaster.  The strength of our two-party system is evident in what Britain is now experiencing.

There is concern that if no coalition deal is in place by tomorrow, the financial markets can be affected.  There is also growing support within the Conservative Party to avoid coalition altogether, and try to rule as a minority government.  Could happen.  Stand by.

May 9, 2010