October 23, 2006
The parliamentary tradition has no rival...
From: The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/19/AR2006101901571.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/19/AR2006101901571.html
'Hear, Hear!' -- Here?
Briton Would Like to Import a Loud Parliamentary Tradition
By Anushka Asthana - Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 20, 2006
P.J. Johnston, the British government's spokesman in the United States, describes the scene as "verbal jousting." Every Wednesday, Prime Minister Tony Blair has to explain and defend his policies in front of a taunting mob of politicians in Parliament. The televised battle is a British tradition.
Johnston, who has worked in the United States for eight years, thinks Americans would like to have a similar show. "There is a great passion in this country for that combative element of British politics that is known as 'Prime Minister's Questions,' " he said in an interview at the British Embassy in Washington.
Johnson is in a better position than most to talk about the differences between the two governments. He has worked closely with both Downing Street and the White House, especially during meetings between Blair and President Bush, and has learned a huge amount about the U.S. government.
Johnston began working for the British government in 1989 when he joined the Northern Ireland Office. His efforts led to being awarded an Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution to the peace process.
He recalled one example from his years in Britain to illustrate just how different the atmosphere in Parliament is from that in Congress. When he was private secretary to then-Security Minister John Wheeler, his boss took him into the House of Commons chamber, where Blair faces questions, and showed him two red lines marking where the government and the opposition sat.
"He explained that the distance between the two red lines is two sword lengths away. If they could not sort it out through debating, they took it outside," Johnston said, laughing. "The verbal jousting you see represents another age of combative politics."
The closest parallel in the United States is the pre-election series of presidential debates, Johnson thinks. "With the exception of set pieces like the State of the Union, the president does not have to actually face Congress," he said.
Bush is treated with more respect than Blair by politicians, the public and the media, Johnston said. While he called the U.S. media "dogged" and the opposition "robust," he said they are also "respectful of the position of being the president of the United States," a courtesy not always afforded to Bush's British counterpart.
Johnston has a theory about this attitude: "The president straddles the role of Tony Blair as head of government on one side and the queen as head of state on the other. The element of being respectful of questioning him relates to the queen element."
But Blair, Johnston said, has the benefit of being able to get his decisions implemented more quickly. The U.S. government has a very "healthy" system of making decisions that starts with a "huge inter-agency debate," he said. Once the president agrees on something, he has to work with Congress to pass it. In Britain, the prime minister is always the leading politician of the party that has a parliamentary majority, so he largely has "the ability to carry a decision through."
While the U.S. and British governments have differences in the way they operate - even for their senior civil servants, including Johnston, who are not allowed to be photographed - they also have some significant differences in opinion. "People constantly say we never disagree with the United States. It is true we are generally on the same page on foreign policy issues because we share common values in relation to peace, security and terrorism," Johnston said.
"But on other issues, like climate change, clearly ourselves and the federal government are not on the same page. But there is a lot of interesting things going on at state level that correspond to our interests." In August, Johnston traveled with Blair to the West Coast, where Blair "signed a major agreement with California - the fifth-largest economy in the world - on issues related to climate change," he said.
Similarly, voters in the United States and the United Kingdom do not always see eye to eye. "I think there are issues that are still live here that people feel deeply, deeply committed to, that for most Europeans are no longer an issue," Johnston said. "I find it interesting that the death penalty is still an issue in this country, because Europe has dealt with that. We oppose it. The issue of being pro-life or being pro-choice ... appears to be a live issue in this country, whereas I guess in most of Europe it is not."
As for his assignment here, Johnston said: "I love Washington, and it is a great city to be in. But the cauldron that is Westminster is very difficult to replicate anywhere else in the world."
Copyright 2006 - The Washington Post
