As you may know, we are having a „super Sunday” voting day in Europe today – Poland, Portugal and Romania are heading to voting stations to cast a vote. All these elections have the opposition to (far) right parties somewhere in its ambient. To the point, where it may substantially change their fate for the foreseeable future.
Looking back into the history, what voting date was the most important in history of your country?
Let’s count both the pre- and after second world war periods.
For Poland, I think, the 1918 elections beared some more importance than those of 1922 and after this another truly free elections did not happen for 69 years (unfortunately not nice), to be held only in 1991. Then after the fall of Polish People’s Republic the most important – as of now – elections were the ones in 2005 that let the Law and Justin party rule for the first time and gave them a combined force of
holding a government and presidential power. This set off a chain of events that basically cemented Polish political scene for decades, letting us into the situation we are in today where only the minor parties evolve and re-invent themselves somewhat majorly whereas the two giants remain virtually unchanged on the surface.
P.S. There is a point to be made about elections in the pre-partition Poland too 🙃
18 comments
Hm either November 1932 or March 1933 because they cemented the nazi dictatorship.
Even though the NSDAP lost in November 1932 in comparison to July 1932 it made president von Hindenburg appoint Hitler as chancellor in January 1933 and giving the nazis control over the German police so they could intimidate voters in the still partly free elections of March 1933 which were the last ones before full dictatoship.
1958 but it wasn’t really divided (and with great electors). It saw the return of De Gaulle with like 75-80% at the first turn. He made France what we are now.
Electing communists in 1946 had very grave consequences. Since then it went quickly downhill. It took them only two years to get a full grip of the country.
2002 presidential election in France.
. Instead of continuing with a boring social Democrat with a more or less sound government, we had to vote for a right wing crook to avoid a full blown fascist.
23 (!) years later it’s still mostly an issue of voting for assholes to avoid psychopaths. In these 23 years, the left was in power for 5 and managed to blew it in such a spectacular manner that it barely exists anymore.
I think that the country’s trajectory would have been very different if Jospin had become president.
In Ireland the 1919 election (although still a part of the uk) saw Sinn Fein win the vast majority of the seats in the island of Ireland, wiping out the moderate ipp and giving them a mandate to declare independence which lead to the war of independence and eventually the current political status in Ireland.
Out of modern elections 2010, a huge landslide delivering PM Orbán and his coalition a two-thirds majority, allowing them to rewrite the laws and govern by their own rules, since then they’ve had free rein of the country
The 1947 “Blue Tag” elections are very notorious, the Communists used a wide variety of methods to rig it, including little blue pieces of paper as forged ballots
I don’t think I can come up with a clear example from the Republic of Cyprus, unless we count referendums – in which case the [Annan Plan referendum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Cypriot_Annan_Plan_referendums) clearly fits the bill.
But looking at presidential elections, you can say something for every single one after Makarios died but it’s not that big at the same time. I guess it has to do with Cypriot politics being in stasis since 1974.
In Germany probably the federal elections of July 1932, which were shaped by political violence and the effects of the world economic crisis, where the NSDAP became the largest party by a large margin. As the political chaos continued even after holding another election in november 1932, which brought similar results, Hindenburg appointed Hitler as chancellor in January 1933, which was the start of the facist dictatorship.
1990, when a former communist won the presidency over two intellectuals that lived in the west and a direct succesor of the communist party got a majority in the parliament.
I guess the first “devolved” elections in 1999 the first national ones since being annexed in the 16th century [Wales]
1948 – First election after WWII, Christians Democrats win and become the first party and main party of every single governing coalition until…
1994 – The elections where Berlusconi was first elected, and which started the transformation of Italy in a banana republic, and that should have been overturned as soon as the early results came out
We’re living them right now…and have been living them for 5 months. Last November we had a fascist Russian plant and the first ever noncorrupt candidate in the second round of presidential elections. Those elections were annulled. Now we also have another fascist Russian plant and the second noncorrupt candidate to make it to the second round of presidential elections. Things look good, it’s practically guaranteed at this point that we’ve beaten Russia.
Good luck in your second round, Poland!
Municipal elections 12th of April 1931 in Spain. They practically were a plebiscite for the establishment of a 2nd republic.
Probably a tie between 1945 and 1979.
1945 brought in a Labour government for the first time (at least if you don’t count Ramsey McDonald who didn’t have a majority) and created a true social democracy with a strong welfare state, the National Health Service and nationalised industries.
1979 brought in Thatcher who then privatised many of those industries and transitioned the country from a traditional manufacturing-based economy to an economy based on services and finance (and heavily London-centric)
2029 is also likely to be a very consequential election as it’s likely to mark the death of the established two-party system that’s governed the country for a good 100 years now.
The June 2nd, 1946 referendum to choose between monarchy and republic. The republic option won. At the same time, the members of the constituent assembly to draft a new constitution were elected.
In the 1948 elections the pro-U.S. Christian Democracy faced off with the pro-Soviet Popular Front. Christian Democracy won and routed Italy toward a pro-European, capitalist and Atlanticist future. The Italian Communist Party would remain in opposition for the next 50 years.
I personally do not believe that a Communists’ victory would have resulted in an Italy in the Warsaw Pact and puppet of the USSR. But there would certainly have been major consequences, Italy would not have been a founding member of either NATO or the European Community and would not have had access to the Marshall Plan
Kravchuk in 1991 who gave up our nukes to the USA and yanukovich in 2010 who gave up our country to the russia
Not European so i’m not sure what I’m doing here but as an American 2024, 2016, 2000 in that order. Put us on the path to whatever the hell is going on right now. I’ll even throw in 1980 for good measure because that’s where the MAGA phrase came from. AHHH someone please wake me up from this nightmare.