Why we should abandon political parties

In the US, the Democratic and Republic Parties seem almost at war with one another. Foreign Policy, a neutral blog, states "it's easy to feel as if U.S. democracy is crumbling before our eyes."

It quotes the conflict on abortion rights and the stacking of the supreme court. Other conflicts are Donald Trump and his court cases Donald Trump promised to drain the Washington swamp. Instead, Bloomberg reported he has surrounded himself with family members, appointees and advisers who've been accused of conflicts of interest, misuse of public funds, failure to disclose information and violating ethics rules. Some associates are under investigation others have resigned and five have either been convicted or pleaded guilty, including three for lying to government officials. Scandals plague all administrations, but Trump's at the time of Bloomberg reporting was only two years old. The allegations kept on coming.

The Australian example of the independents, the Teals. The 2022 election was a historic move of voters away from the two major parties in the Australian election, towards independents. The incumbent Liberal/National Coalition government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison was defeated. In Melbourne, Monique Ryan, a doctor, won the blue-blood conservative seat of Kooyong from the now former treasurer, Josh Frydenberg. Teal had become the preferred colour for many of the independent campaigns, starting with Zali Steggall, who defeated a former prime minister Tony Abbott in the seat of Warringah, on Sydney's northern beaches at the 2019 election. Notably the Teals were all women.

Most of the Teal independents, although not Steggall, received some campaign funding at this election from a group called Climate 200. It was established by the Melbourne philanthropist Simon Holmes à Court in 2019 and provided funding to independent candidates who made climate action their primary objective.

The arguments above make an overwhelming case for the abolition of political parties. But we still need to have a Prime Minister and responsible ministers. How do we get them? I will leave that decision to all future comments, but this writer's choice is to elect the Prime Minister through a national vote, and to endorse aspiring ministers through that election. The final choice of ministers would be at the Prime Minister's discretion. Her choice would be the best way to build a cooperative team. The peoples' choice would ensure that the majority wish prevails.