Double Take

There is a political/government term that has always makes me do a double take when I see it because it means something different to me.

Russia just did it;

MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin dissolved Russia's government Wednesday in a major political shakeup ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections, the Kremlin said.

Canada did it in 2005;

Martin is expected to dissolve the House of Commons on Tuesday and set a firm date for the elections. Under Canadian law, elections must be held on a Monday unless it falls on a holiday and the campaign period is sharply restricted.

Even the Palestinian Authority did it;

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas dissolved the tenuous Hamas-Fatah government on Thursday and declared a state of emergency in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.

For Canada it meant that the majority party changed and new Prime Minister was appointed. In Canada’s case the voters did the deciding.

What happen with the PA is closer to what I think of when I hear the term. There is a civil war or revolution and the government doesn’t really exist anymore.

Right now the word is out whether this is a move by Putin to somehow advance his grip on power or if it is simply him firing the Prime Minister as allowed by their Constitution. I know when I saw the headline my first reaction is that he did a massive power grab and put Russia into a dictatorship. That is my problem with the whole “Dissolving Government” term.