Gaullism Loses Ground

2019 ◽  
pp. 77-88
Author(s):  
John W.P. Veugelers
Keyword(s):  
Student Movement ◽  
Far Right ◽  
National Assembly ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
May 1968 ◽  
Client Relations

Looking at the decade between 1968 and 1978, this chapter examines how the shift in power from Gaullists to Giscard and his party affected the politics of the ex-colonials. The worker-student movement of May 1968 gave the ex-colonials an opportunity to press their grievances, but they won few concessions until the election of Giscard as president in 1974. Seeking their vote, Giscard lured the mayor of Toulon his party; the mayor extended new favors to the ex-colonials and in the 1978 parliamentary elections won election to the National Assembly. Rather than withering, the system of patron-client relations in Toulon had survived the end of the Gaullist era. The moderate right continued to divert the far-right potential of the ex-colonials.

Les élections régionales et européennes du 13 juin 2004 : Analyse des résultats

Res Publica ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 46 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 357-376
Author(s):  
William Fraeys
Keyword(s):  
Status Quo ◽  
The Other ◽  
Socialist Party ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Green Party ◽  
European Elections ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
The Third ◽  
Main Development ◽  
Regional Elections

In Belgium the European elections and those for the regional councils were held on the same day. The elections of June 13th 2004 deserve a threefold analysis. First a comparison can be made with the results obtained five years ago for the same assemblies. lt shows that in Flanders the socialist party has progressed but that this advance was mainly due to the constitution of a cartel with one faction - Spirit - of the defunct Volksunie. The christian democrats made headway, their progress being enhanced by the contribution of N-VA, the other faction stemming from the Volksunie. The liberals declined fairly markedly as did the green party but to a lesser extent than in the elections for the federal parliament. The June 2004 elections saw above all progress for the extreme right Vlaams Blok, which has become the second biggest party of Flanders with 24 pct of the vote. In the Walloon provinces the socialists progress most thereby increasing the gap separating them from the liberals. The christian democrats advance somewhat while the green party Ecolo declines substantially.  The parties of the far right gain support and reach 8.73 pct of the vote. In Brussels the socialist advance is very marked allowing this party to conquer first place to the detriment of the liberals who are in decline. The progress made by frenchspeaking christian democrats is significant.A second approach for the analysis consists in comparing the results of the regional elections with those of the European ones. The differences are slight and rnainly due to the popularity of the candidates. In Belgium there was no "eurosceptic" or "sovereignty" list.  The third angle consists in comparing the 2004 results with the ones of the parliamentary elections of 2003. One then observes in Flanders a decline of the socialists, a significant fall in support for the liberals and a progression of the christian democrats. But the main development remains the progression of the Vlaams Blok which gains more than 6 pct compared to its good result of 2003.  In the Walloon provinces, the socialists remain at their 2003 level but increase their positive gap with regard to the liberals who are in decline. The christian democrats advance by some 2 pct whereas Ecolo recovers a small part of its 2003 loss. The parties of the far right gain some 1.5 pct. In Brussels, the most noteworthy developrnent is the progress of the frenchspeaking socialists who take over the first place from the liberals.In genera!lthese elections are characterised by a reinforcement of the far right to the detriment of the centre parties and by a status quo of the aggregate consisting of socialists and greens, but to the benefit of the former.

On en sont les partis politiques, au lendemain du 8 octobre 2000?

Res Publica ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 575-587
Author(s):  
William Fraeys
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Municipal Elections ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Green Parties ◽  
Political Group ◽  
Political Forces ◽  
Liberal Group ◽  
Regional Elections ◽  
Walloon Region

On October 8th 2000 municipal elections were held in Belgium to renew the local councils which had been elected in 1994. In the Walloon region and in Flanders in addition provincial elections were organised.  The aim of the article is to try and measure globally where the political forces stand after these elections and among others to assess whether significant swings have take place since june 13th, 1999, when the latest parliamentary and regional elections took place.  On the basis of an estimation of the global results in the municipal elections of the various parties in the Walloon region, in Flanders and in Brussels, backed up by the actual results of the provincial elections, one can say that the liberal group bas strengthened its first position.The Christian democrats, who make up the second most important political group and the Socialists, who rank third, have regained a large part of the losses they incurred onjune 13th, 1999.Although improving their results in comparison with 1994, the Green parties lost again part of their advance they registered in the parliamentary and regional elections and which had probably been boosted by the dioxin crisis.The frenchspeaking far right practically disappears, whereas the Vlaams Blok obtained an average of 15 % of the Flemish electorate in the municipal and provincial elections, a level which it had reached in the 1999 parliamentary elections.

New Political Configurations

2019 ◽  
pp. 61-74
Author(s):  
John W.P. Veugelers
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
National Front ◽  
Municipal Elections ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Cultural Events ◽  
Electoral Support ◽  
Local Politicians ◽  
Client Relations

This chapter examines how the ex-colonials organized, what political influence they achieved, and why their efforts stalled. Anticipating elections, their leaders mounted social and cultural events with support from local politicians. These events maintained collective identity and social networks. They signaled a political potential and tightened bonds with local politicians. Similar models of patron-client arose in other Mediterranean cities (e.g., Aix-en-Provence, Marseille, Nice, Montpellier, Perpignan, and Toulouse). In the 1965 municipal elections, all parties in Toulon wooed the ex-colonials, who backed the moderate right. For the 1965 presidential and 1967 parliamentary elections, they sought to maintain their influence, but lost unity. The patron-client relations and electoral support that joined them to the moderate right would persist until the rise of the National Front in the 1990s.

Venezuela's Maduro gains breathing space, for now

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Selection Process ◽  
Socialist Party ◽  
Bolivarian Revolution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
National Assembly ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Popular Support ◽  
Broad Base ◽  
Breathing Space ◽  
The Government

Significance The party base of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) began the process of nominations for primaries that will be convened in June to select candidates for the 2015 National Assembly elections. The government enters the selection process on the back of a rise in popular support catalysed by perceived US aggression and Maduro's strong anti-imperialist narrative. Impacts The broad base of the PSUV nominations process contrasts with MUD plans, fuelling doubts over MUD divisions. Chavista 'battle units' will nominate four candidates, a strategy that is boosting waning enthusiasm for the Bolivarian Revolution. The primaries process strengthens the government's commitment to the parliamentary elections, the date of which has yet to be set.

scholarly journals A Strange Affair: The 2002 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections in France

2002 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 317-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alistair Cole
Keyword(s):  
Electric Shock ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Parliamentary Election ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Fifth Republic ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Mode Of Operation ◽  
Traditional Mode ◽  
Left And Right

The 2002 Elections In France Were A Gripping Drama Unfolding in four acts. Each act has to be understood as part of a whole, as each election was ultimately dependent upon the results of the first round of the presidential election on 21 April. However untypical in the context of Fifth Republican history, the first round of the presidential election strongly inf luenced the peculiar course of the subsequent contests. The outcome of the first election on the 21 April – at which the far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen won through to the second ballot against Jacques Chirac, narrowly distancing the outgoing premier Lionel Jospin – created an electric shock which reverberated around the streets of Paris and other French cities and sparked a civic mobilization without parallel since May '68. The end-result of this exceptional republican mobilization was to secure the easy (initially rather unexpected) re-election of Chirac as president at the second round two weeks later. The election of 5 May was unlike a typical second-round election. Rather than a bipolar contest pitting left and right over a choice of future governmental orientations, it was a plebiscite in favour of democracy (hence Chirac) against the far-right (Le Pen). Chirac was re-elected overwhelmingly as president, supported by at least as many leftwing as right-wing voters. This enforced plebiscite against the extreme right allowed a resurgent Jacques Chirac to claim a renewed presidential authority. At the parliamentary election of 9 and 16 June, the Fifth Republic reverted to a more traditional mode of operation, as a new ‘presidential party’, informally launched just weeks before the elections, obtained a large overall majority of seats to ‘support the President’ in time-honoured Fifth Republican tradition.

South Korea's leader may be less secure than he looks

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Party ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Content Type ◽  
National Assembly ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Approval Rating ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
Ruling Party

Subject The strengths and weaknesses of South Korea's president and ruling party. Significance President Moon Jae-in's approval rating was 79% as of June 14, a record for any South Korean president after a year in office. His left-of-centre ruling Democratic Party (DP) won an unprecedented landslide in nationwide local elections on June 13; it now runs 14 of the 17 provinces and major cities. The party also won eleven of twelve National Assembly by-elections, gaining eight. He now faces no electoral tests until the next parliamentary elections, due in April 2020. Impacts Political party regroupings are likely, with possible mergers consolidating both the left and right. The short-term prospects for inter-Korean engagement appear good. The main risks regarding North Korea are US President Donald Trump’s unpredictability and uncertainty over Pyongyang's ultimate aims.

Slovak centre-right must unite to win again in 2020

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Prime Minister ◽  
Political Support ◽  
The Other ◽  
Far Right ◽  
New Parties ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Central European ◽  
Nationalist Government ◽  
Regional Elections

Subject The government’s poor showing in regional elections. Significance Elections in Slovakia’s eight regions on November 4 led to a surprise defeat for Prime Minister Robert Fico’s Direction-Social Democracy (Smer-SD) party, whose candidates lost four of the six governorships they previously held. A coalition of opposition centre-right parties, which normally only win the governorship in the most prosperous region, Bratislava, was victorious in five of the eight regions. This is the strongest indication yet that the current left-nationalist government could be replaced by such a coalition at the next parliamentary elections due in spring 2020. Impacts The current governing coalition will want to avoid early elections and serve a full four-year term until March 2020. Fico is likely to continue promoting generous social policies to increase his political support. With the defeat of the far-right, Slovakia will continue to diverge from the other Central European states. The weakening of Smer-SD and lack of trust shown by voters leaves considerable scope for new parties to succeed in future elections.

Slovak parties may draw lessons from election upset

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Social Democracy ◽  
Far Right ◽  
New Parties ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Opposition Parties

Significance Liberal and centre-right parties supported the civic activist Caputova, who gained 58.4% of the vote. European Commissioner Sefcovic, who had been nominated by Direction-Social Democracy (Smer-SD), failed to mobilise sufficient numbers of more conservative and nationalist voters, and won only 41.6%. However, since one-quarter of the first-round vote went to far-right and populist candidates, neither the current government parties nor the moderate opposition parties may be able to form a majority government after parliamentary elections due by March 2020. Impacts New parties such as Caputova’s Progressive Slovakia are likely to be a significant parliamentary force after the next elections. Smer-SD will seek to avoid early elections, but its nationalist coalition partners could become more assertive. Slovakia will reinforce its image abroad as a more reliable partner than its Visegrad Four neighbours Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland.

Holding Off the National Front

2019 ◽  
pp. 163-174
Author(s):  
John W.P. Veugelers
Keyword(s):  
State Funding ◽  
Public Works ◽  
Far Right ◽  
National Front ◽  
Municipal Elections ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Departmental Level ◽  
Power Base ◽  
Local Results ◽  
The City

This chapter examines how the moderate right has held power in Toulon ever since the far-right experiment of 1995–2001. Eleven towns in France elected the National Front to power in the 2014 municipal elections and three of those towns are in the Var. Still, the moderate right enjoys a strong hold over Toulon, whose mayor has built up a power base that rivals that of the moderate right before it fell in the mid-1990s. While avoiding scandal, he and his allies have attracted significant state funding. They have mounted public works projects and buttress their power at the departmental level with influence over the regional conurbation. The moderate right is also disciplined. The city is not a loser of globalization. Still, it faces other economic challenges. Further, local results from national (presidential and parliamentary) elections suggest the city’s far-right potential remains significant.

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