MMP: Debunking the Myths, Chastising the Fearmongers

 


The amount of misinformation being spread about the Mixed Member Proportional voting system is truly frightening. I thought the citizens of Ontario deserved better than that. This is an important referendum and it shouldn't be decided by people who misrepresent the truth. There are legitimate arguments on both sides of the issue but it would be a real shame if voters were frightened into rejecting MMP by lies and distortions.

I've already tried to explain why the Sunday Toronto Star was wrong in its editorial [The Toronto Star Endorses First-Pass-the-Post], but others have done a better job.

Here's an article in The National Post by Andrew Coyne [PR:Debunking the fearmongers]. Coyne says,

... we are told that changing the system will result in chronic instability, a series of minority governments, one falling after the other; or else that it will lead to chronic gridlock, a legislature divided into dozens of smaller parties, some extremist, who would use their bargaining power to hijack the political process, demanding that one or other of the mainstream parties adopt their agenda in return for their support. The spectre of Israel and Italy are often invoked, as if to cinch the argument.

We can dispose of the last easily enough. One: Israel and Italy are uniquely divided societies, and were long before they adopted PR. Two: Neither country has ever used anything like the mixed system proposed for Ontario, but rather adopted much more extreme forms of PR, with no threshold for support.

As for the more specific fears, they would perhaps be more tenable were we the first country ever to try proportional representation -- were it not already in use, in one form or another, in most of the democratic world. But in fact it is, and in no country have any of the scare stories come to pass.

Read the entire article to see just how misleading the opponent of MMP have become.

Then there's the press releases on the Vote for MMP website. The first one addresses the claim that party lists would be drawn up by party bosses and would favor hacks. This accusation was made in the Toronto Star editorial, but it's popular fodder for all opponents of MMP. Here's the truth from REALITY CHECK: VOTEFORMMP.CA CALLS ON TORONTO STAR TO CLEAN UP MISLEADING REPORTING.

VoteForMMP.ca is accusing the Toronto Star of fear-mongering and inaccurate journalism in the Star's editorial today against electoral reform.

In today's editorial, the Toronto Star repeated the misleading claim that under Ontario's proposed new MMP system, the new province-wide candidates “could simply be appointed by party bosses.”

"This argument is regularly being used falsely by unthinking defenders of the status quo to deter support for needed electoral reform," said Rick Anderson, campaign chair of VoteForMMP.ca. "It's a shame that a media organization with the Star's credentials is not more careful with the facts regarding such an important question confronting voters."

...

In today's system, parties are left to determine their own methods for democratically nominating local candidates. Likewise, the Citizens’ Assembly left it to the individual parties to determine their own methods of nominating both riding and provincial candidates in the future, with the provisos that the parties are required to nominate their candidates publicly before voters vote and to publish the details of their candidate nomination processes in a clear, democratic and transparent fashion.

"In the other jurisdictions which use MMP all parties have adopted democratic candidate nomination processes for proportional candidates, just as they have for local candidates. Moreover, even in advance of the new system being adopted three of Ontario's four parties have already made public statements affirming they will follow democratic practices to nominate MMP candidates." (See backgounder below.)

"The notion that under MMP candidates would be appointed is simply hogwash," said Anderson. "Star readers should demand greater accuracy from their paper. Informed voters require a higher standard than this inaccurate sloganeering."

The important point here is that Ontario parties will almost certainly adopt democratic practices in drawing up their lists. It makes sense and it's what other countries do. Let's not hear any more fearmongering about party lists. From now on, people who use that argument are not guilty of mere ignorance.

What about the idea that a Mixed Member Proportional voting system would lead to political chaos? This is another of the arguments used in the Toronto Star editorial and it's widely believed to be true. Here's the real truth based on available facts [REALITY CHECK #2 TORONTO STAR WRONG ABOUT WHETHER FPTP OR MMP LEADS TO POLITICAL CHAOS].

VoteForMMP.ca says the Toronto Star owes it to voters to do its homework on whether first-past-the-post (FPTP) or mixed member proportional (MMP) leads to better political consensus.

In an editorial today, the Toronto Star claimed that “Jurisdictions that have adopted some form or other of proportional representation – think of Italy, Israel, Germany, Belgium – have become notorious for chaotic politics and legislature gridlock.”

More than 80 countries use proportional voting systems, with some for more than a century. If colourful anecdotes suffice for “evidence”, does that mean Zimbabwe or Nigeria prove that FPTP is “notorious” for producing oppressive and corrupt regimes?

The respected comparative studies show countries with proportional representation enjoy stable, effective, representative, accountable governments, which tend to produce legislation more in line with majority viewpoint while maintaining strong economic performance.

Notwithstanding colourful politics, Italy is actually a fairly stable and successful country, as vibrant in its political culture as it is in so many other ways, and hardly a failing state. The periodic reorganizations of its governing coalitions are sometimes colourful to be sure, but are generally accomplished without elections or even changes of government, more akin to what we think of as cabinet shuffles than anything else. (See: minority governments in Canada for more disruptive examples of chaos). Where does the Star get off treating Italy this way - and forgiving what happens here in Canada when voters are divided in their preferences?

Germany is an example which directly disproves the Star's supposed point. When the 2005 elections produced a split outcome, and smaller parties demanded high concessions as the price of coalition support, the two largest parties instead agreed to collaborate together in forming a successful government. The Star should check its facts.

...

The Star is perpetuating two misleading myths: one that FPTP is relatively stable and the other that PR is not. The facts are generally the opposite of the Star's comfortable prejudice in favour of the status quo.