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<blockquote data-quote="Naofumi" data-source="post: 47490" data-attributes="member: 39">Though the Austrian prime minister was appointed by the emperor andking, this act of appointment merely gave practical effect to the parliamentarywill. The huckstering and bargaining that went on in regard to everyministerial position showed all the typical marks of western democracy. Theresults that followed were in keeping with the principles applied. Theintervals between the replacement of one person by another gradually becameshorter, finally ending up in a veritable chase. With each change, the qualityof the &#039;statesman&#039; in question deteriorated, until finally only the petty typeof political gangster remained. In such people, the qualities of statesmanshipwere measured and valued according to the skill with which they piecedtogether one coalition after another; in other words, their craftiness inmanipulating the pettiest political transactions, which is the only kind ofpractical activity suited to the aptitudes of these representatives.In this sphere, Vienna was the school that offered the most impressiveexamples.Another feature that engaged my attention even more was the contrastbetween the talents and knowledge of these representatives of the peopleon the one hand and, on the other, the nature of the tasks they had to face.Willingly or unwillingly, one couldn&#039;t help thinking seriously of the narrowintellectual outlook of these chosen representatives of the variousnationalities. And one couldn&#039;t avoid contemplating the methods throughwhich these noble figures in our public life were first discovered.It was worthwhile to make a thorough study of the way in which thereal talents of these gentlemen were devoted to the service of theircountry-in other words, to thoroughly analyze the technical process oftheir activities.The more I penetrated into the intimate structure of parliamentary life,and the more I studied the persons and principles of the system in a spiritof ruthless objectivity, the more deplorable it became. Indeed, it&#039;smandatory to be strictly objective in the study of an institution whosesponsors speak of &#039;objectivity&#039; as the only fair basis of examination andjudgment. If one studied these gentlemen and the laws of their sordidexistence, the results were surprising.3.12 &#039;PUBLIC OPINION&#039;Objectively considered, there is no other principle that turns out to bequite so ill-conceived as parliamentarianism.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Naofumi, post: 47490, member: 39"] Though the Austrian prime minister was appointed by the emperor and king, this act of appointment merely gave practical effect to the parliamentary will. The huckstering and bargaining that went on in regard to every ministerial position showed all the typical marks of western democracy. The results that followed were in keeping with the principles applied. The intervals between the replacement of one person by another gradually became shorter, finally ending up in a veritable chase. With each change, the quality of the 'statesman' in question deteriorated, until finally only the petty type of political gangster remained. In such people, the qualities of statesmanship were measured and valued according to the skill with which they pieced together one coalition after another; in other words, their craftiness in manipulating the pettiest political transactions, which is the only kind of practical activity suited to the aptitudes of these representatives. In this sphere, Vienna was the school that offered the most impressive examples. Another feature that engaged my attention even more was the contrast between the talents and knowledge of these representatives of the people on the one hand and, on the other, the nature of the tasks they had to face. Willingly or unwillingly, one couldn't help thinking seriously of the narrow intellectual outlook of these chosen representatives of the various nationalities. And one couldn't avoid contemplating the methods through which these noble figures in our public life were first discovered. It was worthwhile to make a thorough study of the way in which the real talents of these gentlemen were devoted to the service of their country-in other words, to thoroughly analyze the technical process of their activities. The more I penetrated into the intimate structure of parliamentary life, and the more I studied the persons and principles of the system in a spirit of ruthless objectivity, the more deplorable it became. Indeed, it's mandatory to be strictly objective in the study of an institution whose sponsors speak of 'objectivity' as the only fair basis of examination and judgment. If one studied these gentlemen and the laws of their sordid existence, the results were surprising. 3.12 'PUBLIC OPINION' Objectively considered, there is no other principle that turns out to be quite so ill-conceived as parliamentarianism. [/QUOTE]

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