Democracy held to ransom in small European island

Businessmen don't like the result of first ever election in Sark and fire 140 people.

The channel island of Sark (pop. 500) had its first post-feudal election on 11 Dec. 2008. The mutlimillionaire businessmen the Barclays Brothers are the main employers with restaraunts, hotels, and shops throughout the Channel Islands. They fielded candidates for all nine seats in the new parliament, no doubt ably assisted by the national newspaper they own, the Daily Telegraph. Unfortunately for the Sarkese, they didn't know how to vote with gratitude and went for candidates who wanted to preserve the character of the island. Only two of the Barclays' men got in, so now they've unilaterally pulled out of all their Sark interests, with the potential loss of 140 jobs. What started as a 'fun' election was turned into a bitter feud where the islanders decided to test their democratic right by voting against the grain. The result was a stark lesson in the priorities of capitalism.