Quotable

This tries not to be one of those history blogs that is an endless screed about contemporary politics. But the historical scene seems a little flat these days, and Taylor Owen's closing comment in his 5 Reasons why the British coalition experience is not likely to be repeated here, seemed worth saluting:

Possibly the main lesson of the British coalition is procedural. Brits have once again shown Canadians that they take parliamentary democracy seriously. There was no talk of coalitions with socialists and separatists, Gordon Brown stepped aside with dignity, Mr. Cameron and Mr. Clegg authored an incredibly thorough agreement that has a legitimate chance of lasting, and the media overall treated the historic events with substance rather than gamesmanship. In short, they were adults.