On October 4, Ireland held a referendum on whether to abolish its national Senate. The voters rejected the idea in a close vote. See this story.
Ballot Access News
Edited By Richard Winger
On October 4, Ireland held a referendum on whether to abolish its national Senate. The voters rejected the idea in a close vote. See this story.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seanad_%C3%89ireann
Note the multiple parties due to P.R. —
NOT like the Stone Age gerrymander regimes in the USA.
A Senate in a unitary polity is not needed, except as a way to slow down legislation (a very valid purpose!). A Senate in a federal system, however, is an important reminder of federalism.
Jeff D.
Jeff, When I first read your comment, I thought the sentence ended in “feudalism”. In some ways I think a Senate (or a House of Lords!) does remind one of “feudalism”, but I also get your point about “federalism”.