More problems for Chilean Christian Democrats

In an interview, Christian Democrat Gabriel Valdés said he believes his party is about to fall apart. He argued that the party was focused too much on power for power’s sake, strategically putting people into positions of political influence without any regard for ideas.

He’s a very important figure, as a founding member of the party (he’s in his late 80s) former senator and current Ambassador to Italy (I must admit I didn’t know he was still politically active!). This could just represent a generational dispute, but at the very least it is yet another example of the general disarray in the Concertación.

The theme of power is important. The Concertación has been in power for 18 years now. At what point does power for power’s sake get in the way of enacting positive change for the country? The next presidential election (not until late 2009) will be an especially fascinating one.