Sir, – I noted with interest the recent Dutch parliamentary elections. Their lower house consists of just 150 members.
I always thought of our Dutch cousins as a fully developed functioning democracy, so I wondered how they managed with so few members of parliament. Here in Ireland we just about make do on 166 TDs. By some quick calculations I deducted that we are at least 10 per cent more democratic, despite having about a quarter their population.
So I think once the new government of the Netherlands has some time to settle in, we should extend an invitation to them to come over and see how a real democracy should be organised. In return, they might be persuaded to show us how to maintain a balanced budget and AAA credit rating. – Yours, etc,