LONDON -- The shape of politics is changing in the world's main democracies in a manner that Japan may find familiar. But the implications are only starting to seep through.
In the United States, the midterm elections last November, the recent replacement of the Senate majority leader and the installation of a new economic team have all underscored the dominance of President George W. Bush. In France, President Jacques Chirac's center-right parties dominate the executive and the legislature, where by far the largest grouping is known simply as the Union for the Presidential Majority.
Though he has faltered at the opinion polls recently, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his New Labour government are still streets ahead of the Conservative opposition, which now has to worry about being beaten into third place in popular support by the Liberal Democrats. In Italy, the opposition is in disarray in the face of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's coalition, which stretches from the moderate right to regionalists and the heirs of fascism. In the nascent democracy of Russia, President Vladimir Putin has asserted himself. Even in Germany, the opposition is having trouble getting its act together.