I have been following US politics, particulary the presidential debates, in which the Republican candidate, Governor George W Bush of the US state of Texas and US Vice President Al Gore, the Democrat, traded questions and answers on important US policies.
If I were an American, I would be proud of this process, even if it does consist of one person trying to take advantage of another.
The culture of open debate between electoral rivals has rarely been seen in Asia, and absolutely not in Cambodia. The debates show the accountability of the US democracy. They are a good example for other nations.
Could this type of debate exist in Cambodia? In the last two national elections, the debates and dialogue only happened after the elections, when the majority winner eagerly sought cooperation with the runner-up in order to strengthen a coalition government.
Perhaps because of the shortage of debate before elections, Cambodia has deep political crises after the voting. And it was because each leader made negative remarks about their rivals.
Someday another national election will come, and when it does, I want to see Cambodian leaders, both the ruling and opposition leaders, approach each other and talk constructively about policy. If Cambodian politicians follow the same path of revenge and hatred as they have in the past, they risk leading the nation into crisis again.
As a Cambodian citizen, I would be extremely proud to see leaders like Prime Minister Hun Sen, Prince Norodom Ranariddh and Sam Rainsy sitting at three tables in front of an audience as Bush and Gore have, questioning each other freely about policy.
