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I have really appreciated having 5+ parties to choose from in Iceland, with no one party having a majority... and so 2+ parties always have to form coalitions in order to have a majority (AFTER the vote), corresponding to exactly what percent of voters voted for them. Each party only gets as many seats in parliament as they earn, via voting... and I like that system very much.
However, I fear that Americans would freak out if they had 5 parties... they have a hard enough time deciding on a candidate, as it is. I don't think people would care enough to think in a more complex manner about differences between 5 parties. They want things to be simple, cut and dried and laid out for them to consume, no thinking required. "Gut feelings" are easy to go by when you only have 2 parties. Not so easy with 5.
Funny thing is that in Iceland, even the most "right-wing" parties are centrist by American standards. You would never get the kind of bullshit in Europe that you have with the far right-wingers in the US. They just don't have the patience for that, in this century. I don't know why Americans continue to tolerate it.
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And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran
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