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212 points DamienSF | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.228s | source
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forbes ◴[] No.12171132[source]
Does any other country have a 'primary' system like the US? In Australia there is no pretending to elect candidates for each party. In our recent election we had two choices for PM from the major parties, chosen by the parties themselves.

In the US you spent a year choosing your candidates, but behind closed doors one of those parties spent all their time trying to push one candidate whilst the other party spent all their time trying to stop another.

The Australian system seems a little more honest, even though the roles of PM and President are quite different. We can elect a PM and the party can then choose to throw them out the week after. This happens frequently.

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1. novawave ◴[] No.12171304[source]
The major Canadian political parties hold leadership elections open to party members (indirectly through convention delegates mostly). Party membership is entirely a private undertaking, and generally just requires a small financial contribution and a promise that you don't already belong to another party.