Crises Are No Time for Political Unity
No healthy democracy exists without a vigorous opposition. In The Devil’s Dictionary, the journalist Ambrose Bierce defined the O-word as “the party that prevents the government from running amuck by hamstringing it.” The Pulitzer-winning historian Richard Hofstadter argued that “modern democracy was created by the competition between political parties and is unthinkable without them.”
Yet a crisis always prompts suggestions that opposition is either nitpicking, destabilizing, or outright traitorous. In early April, nearly said they would support a government of national unity to tackle the coronavirus. The implication was that taking party politics out of the equation would improve the country’s response. History is often conscripted into this pro-unity argument. The former Conservative Party treasurer Michael Ashcroft this month satirically if the Second World War happened today, common questions would include “Does the siren apply to everyone?” “Why can’t I have almond milk on my ration card?” and “Why didn’t we have stockpiles of Spitfires [fighter planes]
