The May 7 British election appears to be as close as the recent Israeli election, with Prime Minister Cameron’s Conservatives and Ed Miliband’s Labour nearly tied. Neither party is near half the electorate in a system that, until recently, produced a stable two-party government.
Cameron’s current partner, the Liberal Democrats led by Nick Clegg, has collapsed in voter support and is now exceeded by the new independent anti-EU and anti-immigration Independent Party, UKIP, represented by Nigel Farage.
Again, like Israel, governing will require a coalition, and it will likely be less stable than the past and could lead to a significant shift in direction in foreign policy, especially related to European relations, but there will also be strain in holding the nation’s disparate pieces together since a Scottish independence party is likely to win many local seats, most of which were in the Labour camp.
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