Greater serenity

British MPs need to cooperate in new coalition policies. Clifford Longley, former correspondent for the “Times” and the “Daily Telegraph”, editorialist for the Catholic weekly “The Tablet” and a regular commentator for the BBC, highlighted the positive aspects of post-election, also in view of a gradual – albeit slow – economic recovery. Cameron got the most votes, and may lead a coalition with the Liberal Democrats under the banner of “One Nation Conservatism”. What will happen in Westminster? And what will be the role played by Catholics in the next Parliament? SIR Europe asked these questions to Longley.What’s the situation four days after the election?“The economic situation isn’t as tragic as it appeared at the end of last week, thus there is no need for a rapid party-agreement. The difference in this election is the lack of insults, conflicts and arguments. Electors wished to teach a lesson to politicians by electing a “hung parliament”, and they succeeded”. Will UK politics change?“We passed from a situation of struggle and conflict to a situation of coexistence, where everyone treats the other very well in the awareness that later on they might need the other person. There is no longer partisanship. This is already a remarkable achievement, even though the government hasn’t been formed yet”. The agreement between Liberal Democrats and Conservatives, who are not ideologically close, since the former have more in common with the Labour party, is awkward to Italians, used to a radical fissure between the right and the left…“A one nation conservatism tradition characterises the conservative party, which seeks to preserve national unity by making an alliance with other parties. It dates back to Benjamin Disraeli. Its representatives include Winston Churchill, Harold MacMillan and Edward Heath. This branch of the party favours an alliance with the Liberal Democrats. The problem is that the Conservatives’ right wing, marked by Euroscepticism and in favour of the free-market, opposes the agreement”. How will Catholic voters react to a conservative government? “Compared to the Conservatives, 19% more Catholics vote for the Labour Party. This has always been Catholics’ position. Some recent decisions of the Labour government have upset Catholic voters. One of these is the new legislation on adoption agencies that forced the Catholic ones to shut down unless they accepted adoption by homosexual couples. However, Catholics still vote left-wing parties since they descend from Irish immigrants and by tradition they belong to the poorest population brackets”.But a survey by the Catholic weekly “Tablet” shows that Catholic votes are shifting towards the Conservatives …“It’s true. The Catholic community has become wealthier, more upper class, and their votes have shifted to the Conservatives. But in their hearts, Catholics feel closer to the Labour party. When they are asked which issues are more dear to them the answer is social justice, the development of the nation, fair trade and concerns for the Third World. It’s a position that conveys attention to the ill-starred, which pertains to the Social Doctrine of the Church”. Eight Catholic MPs from the Conservative party and three Catholic MPs from the Labour party were elected in the new parliament. How influential is Catholic vote in Westminster?“Catholic MPs and Christians in general usually are not a unified voting bloc. Rather, they follow the policies of the parties they are members of. The only issue they vote for jointly is that regarding Church-run schools that are often attacked by the representatives of secularism. When the minister of Education, Labour-party member Ed Balls, said he wanted to change the rules for the admission of pupils in religious schools, forcing the institutes to admit a fixed number of pupils whose faith differed from that one represented by the school, Christian MPs jointly voted against, thus defeating his proposal”. Silvia Guzzetti (London)