Which Western country will be the first to elect a non-white Prez/PM?

[_Jumper_]

Thoughts?

[Julien Sorel]

1. Mexico?

[_Jumper_]

2. I mean a racial minority

I didn't say minority because Canada has elected minority French people Prime Minister.

[dutchdemocrat]

5. I would say Canada

Europeans have tightened up on their immigration programs and there is more tension here due to the Iraq War between significant muslim minorities (this spills over into wariness of all racial minorities).

The US could have had Powell if he played his cards better - but after this fiasco he is toast.

Canada has already had an East Indian (not Native) premiere in British Columbia which sports a significant Indian population. Canada could also see a Chinese Prime Minister, as they have been in Canada for well over a hundred years. NOTE- The Chinese and other Far East asians make up about 25% of the population of Vancouver now and combine with well over 50 per cent of university enrollment now in British Columbia.

Canada's policy of using a Cultural Mosaic model over the US's Melting Pot paradigm has led to a more tolerant society in general.

[_Jumper_]

9. If I had to guess it would be Canada

The lower level of racism there counters the higher minority % here. Of course, this is all speculation and only time will tell who's guess is right.

[dutchdemocrat]

10. I am not sure

I think Canada has a similar percentage ratio now to the USA. They take more emmigrants than any country in the world. Many from Asia, Africa and Latin America. Quebec has their own immigration policy which has brought in large amounts of French speaking West Africans, and Haitians.

[_Jumper_]

14. Not right now

It was 13% non-white in that last census(2001 I think) ; the USA is 13% Hispanic, 12% black, 4% Asian, and 1% Native American in the 2000 census. It is 2% multiracial. So it is almost 1/3 non-white.

Even the most diverse province, Ontario, is over 4/5 white.

You are right about immigration. It is quickly making Canada a very diverse nation.

[dutchdemocrat]

16. 2003 study

Ethnic Diversity Survey: Portrait of a multicultural society 2003

PDF http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/89-593-XIE/free.htm

Canada is a multicultural society whose ethno-cultural composition has been shaped over time by different waves of immigrants and their descendents, as well as by the Aboriginal peoples of the country. Each new wave of immigrants has added to its diversity.
Canada welcomed more than 13.4 million immigrants during the past
century, the largest number having arrived during the 1990s. According to the 2001 Census, 18.4% of the population was born outside Canada, the highest proportion in 70 years.
As well, the sources of immigrants to Canada have changed in recent decades, with increasing numbers coming from non-European countries. These immigrants and their children are adding to the ethno-cultural make-up of Canada’s population, making it one of the most ethnically diverse nations in the world.

People of non-European descent accounted for 13% of the population aged 15 years and older, or 2.9 million. The most frequent origins were Chinese and East Indian. (Non-Europeans have origins in places such as Asia, Africa, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Australia and Oceania.)

In addition, 15% of the population aged 15 years and older, or 3.3 million, reported mixed ethnic heritages that included at least some European or non- European origins.

13% plus 15% (mixed) is 28% of the population. That is for 15 and older. I am sure 15 and under is even higher as people of European descent tend to have lower birth rates.

[_Jumper_]

17. Mixed is mostly an ethnic mix, not a racial mix

An English and Italian person is considered mixed there. That is good IMO. They place emphasis on ethnicity instead of race and that is one reason they have less racism than America.

[JackDragna]

3. The United States

Merely because we're the most heterogeneous Western nation on the planet. The first minority president, however, will undoubtedly be a Republican.

[_Jumper_]

4. Republican?

What makes you think that. Do you think Powell or Rice will run in 2008?

[whirlygigspin]

7. Canada's official head of State

is a Chinese woman.

Governor General Adrienne Clarkson

http://www.gg.ca/governor_general/biography_e.asp

Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, C.C., C.M.M., C.O.M., C.D., Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada

Born in Hong Kong in 1939, Madame Clarkson came to Canada as a refugee with her family, during the war in 1942. She received her early education in the Ottawa public school system and later obtained an Honours B.A. and an M.A. in English Literature from the University of Toronto. She also did post-graduate work at the Sorbonne in France. Madame Clarkson is fluently bilingual.

[_Jumper_]

8. Good point

But she was appointed.

[whirlygigspin]

12. FYI--John Raulston Saul

is Adrienne Clarkson's husband, and a great writer/thinker...
If you ever get a chance to read his book Voltaire's Bastards or
the unconcious civilization, do it.

John Ralston Saul argues that while Fascism was defeated in World War II, its "corporatist" doctrines powerfully influence our own society today. Saul explores how these corporatist priorities have now become so woven into our social fabric that they threaten the practice of Western democracy. Our civic order, Saul argues, has been remade to serve the needs of business managers and technocrats. In turn, other parts of society have come to mimic this arrangement as they themselves fracture into competing interest groups and ethnic blocs, virtually eliminating the role of the citizen. This largely unseen social order has deep and vexing roots in Western thought. Saul examines how this structure is bolstered today by political and intellectual charlatans who misleadingly describe it as a "common sense" arrangement, rather than what it is: an insidious war of attrition against the individual as citizen and the delicate system of open dialogue and doubt that alone guarantees the future of democracy.

[_Jumper_]

15. Thanks I'll make not of that

n/t

[dutchdemocrat]

19. That's cool

I did not know that nice little kernal. What a powerhouse duo.

[AP]

6. I have a feeling it will be France. Just a hunch.

It seems like Harold Ford would be a good bet for a future president, but will some other predominantly white western country beat the US to the finish line?

[fujiyama]

13. Ford's a rising star in the party...

No doubt. Being a moderate minority representative from a southern state, I think he also may make a good VP possibility in a future election as well (maybe even this time if he meets the agre requirement).

[dutchdemocrat]

18. That's a long shot

Muslim tension is high, and the French are notorious for their cultural armour. I say the day that happens is the day Le Monde goes bilingual (even online).

[arcos]

20. Peru did... n/t

[_Jumper_]

21. Thanks

Is Peru considered Western, though? Mostly only Europe, America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are. Sometimes I see Latin America classified as part of the West. What is the "real" definition?

[arcos]

22. well, if it is not west, what is it?

I think it could hardly be considered "east". "West" is not reserved to developed countries, IMHO. Latin America has always been influenced by whatever happens in the US, and of course, it was a colony of Spain.

I think the east-west division is more religiously related. The 'west' has traditionally embraced Christianity, while in the 'east' Islam and Buddhism are the most importants. And thus, this has shaped everyday live in each hemisphere.

[rhite5]

23. How do you define a "western" country?

What is South Africa? It considers itself a democracy. Mandela was its head of state. I do not think of it as an Eastern country.

[Paschall]

25. But Mandela is a member of the South African majority. n/t

[Paschall]

24. Nah

There isn't a minority individual with the necessary clout in any major French political party. The power is heavily locked down by the good ole boys' network. Even women have had difficulty achieving parity in the French Parlement.

Of course there was Alberto Fujimori in Peru. (ON EDIT: Oh, I see others have already mentioned Fujimori.)

[arcos]

11. Peru elected Alberto Fujimori in 1990.

on edit:

A few stats for Peru...

Ethnic groups:
Amerindian 45%, mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 37%, white 15%, black, Japanese, Chinese, and other 3%


Fujimori's parents were Japanese, and in fact there is a rumor that says he was actually born in Japan and has a fake birth certificate.

[Pocho]

26. EVER HEAR OF BENITO JUAREZ?

He was a full blooded Zapotec. Now, some in the US who have managed peek beyond the restrictive racist provinciality of its schooling consider him the Abraham Lincoln of Mexico. Another view however might be that Lincoln was the Juarez of the US.

[Devils Advocate NZ]

27. NZ had a Maori Deputy PM...

And he is the second most popular on the list of prefered Prime Minister in a poll released a few days ago.

I have a counter question - which nation is going to be the second nation on the planet to elect a transgendered racial minority to parliament or congress, or any transgendered person for that matter?

Because the first is sitting in our Parliament right now :-)

[ShaneGR]

28. Oh Canada, God Shed His Grace on Thee

They seem to be the first to do everything else, so why not?