Roperos: Season of alliances

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

IN past few elections, politics and politicians in the Philippines somehow appeared to have taken a new norm of behavior. Unlike in previous years, the nation’s politics followed the traditional American two-party system, the United States being the Filipinos’ mentor in democratic governance. Thus, while Americans always had their Republican and Democratic political parties, Filipinos had their Nacionalista and Liberal parties.

This historical perspective obtained during the post-World War II period in Philippine history when the country was granted its independence by the United States. It was a clear indication of how the Filipinos were schooled by the Americans on the ways of democratic governance that became the mold, too, of its attitude towards politics.

Have something to report? Tell us in text, photos or videos.

Thus, as the Filipinos lived and developed its democratic tradition patterned after the ways of American democracy, the norm of conduct and practices we have to this day also take on as exact copy of the US original, down to the good and evil of the American way. But really, this is not what I wish to take up right now. It is our brewing current politics.

The past few days, we witnessed how our hibernating political game players appear to have settled down for a quiet and peaceful sleep, only to have suddenly been awaken by the political noises indicating that another elections would be upon us in a few months and the political season is generating a little more heat every day.

Soon, as tradition may have it, we would be drawn into the vortex of a political campaign. And whether we like it or not, we would have to participate, and fulfill our obligation to choose our leaders.

And who we would choose to fill up the different political posts to man the operation of our government will have to depend upon how the political candidates would convince us to choose their political group/party over their opponents. This is how political alliances become imperative as the candidates join political parties and form alliances with other candidates in order to acquire individual and collective strength as candidates.

Actually, recent political norm of campaigning has become quite informal, innovative, and more aggressive in gaining political support from the voting public. The way alliances and factions are formed today, the traditional two party system we have earlier talked about has become useless and ineffective. Thus, local candidates may support a different national political party, while having a different one at the local level.

Truth to tell, I think our contemporary politics and politicians have given up on the two-party system. What we have is a free-for-all kind, but seems to be more democratic.