FAT TUESDAYS

"FAT TUESDAY" GENERALLY REFERS TO some aspect of the Mardi Gras or similar festival. Next week, the first Tuesday in November, is a rather special occasion on each side of the Pacific.

In the US, it will be election day for a lot of senators, congress men, governors, and other officials. It could make for quite a change in the political scene with a possible swing back towards conservative sentiment in the offing. On the surface, there are some differences across the Pacific. Voting is compulsory in Australia and takes place on a Saturday, when it is much easier to attend a polling place. One has to be a little more committed in the US to cast one's vote. This aside, politics looks much the same. There is the party of the left and the party of the right, with some tendency for the political centre to shift towards the right. On either shore, it does sometimes appear that the main business of politics is to get elected or re-elected.

A major difference is that minority politicians can have extraordinary influence here in Oz. At the last election, the major parties each got 72 seats in the lower house. Since the Senate is only a chamber of review and does not originate bills, it follows that the work of government mainly takes place in the lower house, where the leader of the ruling party has much the same role as a US President. So, to gain power, the current government had to court the favour of the independent members and those elected from the Green Party. The independents therefore have a lot of influence on the fate of proposed legislation.

In both countries, the urgent need is for politicians to relearn the art of government, for example considering the long term good of the people (sometimes referred to as the commonwealth) rather than merely playing the game of politics. In both countries, the role of conservatives seems to be focused on countering the need to attend to environmental issues.

In Australia, Fat Tuesday undoubtedly is the Melbourne Cup Day. Not all Aussies are punters though it must be admitted that racing is much more to the fore Down Under. On the first Tuesday in November, the whole nation pauses to watch, listen to, and celebrate The Cup. It is just one of the races on the day culminating the Spring Racing Carnival but it eclipses the other races in terms of attracting the nation's interest. At the time of the running of the Cup, in shops, offices, industries, and in almost every place, Aussies stop to watch or hear the running of this race. Horses from many parts of the world will have come for a chance to win the coveted Cup. If you live in Melbourne, it is a public holiday. Outside of Melbourne, across the State of Victoria, workers can get a day off at some other time of the year in lieu of this great occasion. It is a day of high fashion, of cruises up the river to the 'sacred' scene, of amazing interest in the running of this one race. The cup itself is gold and valued at some $125,000.

So there you have it...Two Tuesdays of very different sorts, the outcome of which can be of the greatest interest.

Yes, I did say that I would write more about passing through the eye of the needle. Sorry, next time...just could not resist Fat Tuesdays.