4 Politics

Exercise 1 Read the information below.

Types of Government

Monarchy: a state ruled by a king or queen (the king or queen has power and control). Some countries, e.g. the UK, have a monarchy, but the monarch is not the ruler.

Republic: a state governed by representatives (men or women chosen by the people) and a president, e.g. the USA or France. People who believe in this system are republicans.

Democracy: a system of government in which leaders are chosen by the people, e.g. France or the United Kingdom. People who believe in this system are democrats.

Dictatorship: a system of government in which one person rules the country (one person has total power). This person is called a dictator.

Political beliefs

Noun politics	Person politician	Adjective political
Conservatism Socialism Social democracy Liberalism Communism	Conservative Socialist Social democrat Liberal Communist	Conservative Socialist Democratic Liberal Communist

People who believe in social democracy are social democrats.

It is a democratic government, with liberal beliefs.

Political positions

The government is very reactionary (they don’t want any changes). The opposition (the main political party which is not in government) is more radical. They want to make changes to the system. The Prime Minister is quite right-wing (conservative / capitalist), and the leader of the opposition is more left-wing (socialist).

Elections

In a democracy, people vote for (they choose in a formal way) the political party (e.g. social democrats) they want to form the government. They do this in an election (when everyone votes). Quite often elections take place/are held (happen) every five years.

42% voted for the socialists in the election. (The socialist party got 42% of the votes). They elected a new president last year. The new president was elected last year. The election takes place next week, and the Liberals hope to form the next government.

Government

Political systems are different all over the world (in every part of the world). In the UK, when a political party wins a majority (51% or more) of seats (official places in parliament) in an election, they are in power (the government of the country), and their leader (person in control of the party) becomes Prime Minister.

The government must have policies (programmes of action) to run (manage and control) the country. This means, for example, an economic policy (for the economy), and a foreign policy (for actions by the country in other parts of the world).

Note that policy – is a set of ideas or plans that is used as a basis for making decisions, especially in politics, economics or business. Politics – are the actions or activities which people use to achieve power in a country, society or organization.

Exercise 2 What kind of political system is being described?

1 The country is ruled by a king or queen.

2 The country is governed by men and women who are chosen by the people.

3 The country is ruled by one person.

Exercise 3 Complete the tables. Use a dictionary to help you if necessary.

General noun	Person
Socialism Democracy Politics Conservatism	socialist

Verb	General noun
Believe Elect Govern Vote	belief

Exercise 4 Translate and match these types of government with their dictionary definitions.

a) democracy; 1) government by a small group of people, often for their own interests;

b) totalitarianism; 2) government by the people or the representatives of the people;

c) monarchy; 3) a country in which most of the citizens

are controlled by (secret) political police;

d) dictatorship; 4) a political system in which every citizen

is subject to the power of the state, which

exercises complete control;

e) oligarchy; 5) a system ruled by someone with complete power, especially if that power was gained by force;

f) tyranny; 6) the system of rule by a king or queen;

g) police state; 7) the use of power cruelly and / or unjustly to rule a person or country.

Exercise 5 Rewrite the sentences using the words on the right. The meaning must stay the same. Make any necessary changes.

Model: It’s in every part of the world. – It’s all over the world. ALL

1 Elections take place every five years. HELD

Elections .

2 The government is socialist. WING

The government is .

3 I’m a democrat. BELIEVE

I .

4 Who controls the country at the moment? POWER

Who .

Exercise 6 Fill the gaps in this text about the political system in the UK.

In the UK (1) take place every five years. The (2)  Minister may decide to have one after four years, but five years is the maximum. The country is divided into 650 areas and people in each area can only (3) for one person from one political (4) . The person with the most (5) is the winner, and that person becomes of the 650 members of parliament. The political party with a (6)  of the seats in parliament then forms the government, and the (7) of that party becomes Prime Minister. His or her job is then to decide on a number of different (8) to run the country.

Exercise 7 Answer these questions about your own country. If possible, ask someone else.

1 Which are the main political parties in your country?

2 Which party is in power at the moment?

3 When were they elected?

4 Did you vote in the last election?

5 Who is the leader of this party?

6 Is this person the President or Prime Minister of your country?

7 Do you think you are left-wing, right-wing, or in the centre?

8 Do you think your political beliefs will change during your life?

Exercise 8 Match the verbs with their complements. Tick the boxes. Make the sentences with these words combinations.

	Parliament	Election	A candidate	Your local party	A constituency
Stand for Stand as Nominated by Represent Resign from

Writing task: now choose a famous politician or leader from our country. Write notes about him / her, an introductory and a concluding sentence and read your presentations aloud to the group.