Charles de Gaulle, the magisterial president of France from 1959-69, was inordinately fond of the phrase, "Moi ou le chaos" — "Me or chaos." It was not much of a choice.
The same might be said of the imperious message the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has been sending out to the Japanese people in the lead up to August 30th's House of Representatives election: Us or chaos.
Campaigning 10 days ago, Prime Minister Taro Aso cut the hot air with his index finger, and said: "The Liberal Democratic Party is conservative, and this means that we defend."