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.

Magic and Politics

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 5-14
Author(s):  
Sabina Magliocco
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
North America ◽  
Human Behavior ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
The United States ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Cultural Expression ◽  
Spirit World

This essay introduces a special issue of Nova Religio on magic and politics in the United States in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election. The articles in this issue address a gap in the literature examining intersections of religion, magic, and politics in contemporary North America. They approach political magic as an essentially religious phenomenon, in that it deals with the spirit world and attempts to motivate human behavior through the use of symbols. Covering a range of practices from the far right to the far left, the articles argue against prevailing scholarly treatments of the use of esoteric technologies as a predominantly right-wing phenomenon, showing how they have also been operationalized by the left in recent history. They showcase the creativity of magic as a form of human cultural expression, and demonstrate how magic coexists with rationality in contemporary western settings.

Crossing the left-right party divide? Understanding the electoral success of the Czech Pirate Party in the 2017 parliamentary elections

Politics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 510-526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pavel Maškarinec
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Party ◽  
Parliamentary Election ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Spatial Perspective ◽  
Electoral Success ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
The Right ◽  
Leftist Parties ◽  
Spatial Support

In the 2017 Czech parliamentary election, the Czech Pirate Party (Pirates) gained 10.79% of the votes – an unprecedented success, compared to most of the pirate parties across Europe. However, as their electoral gain varies widely across the Czech Republic’s territory, this article analyses all (more than 6000) Czech municipalities in the elections of 2010, 2013, and 2017 to explain this variation. Overall, the success of the Pirates was driven especially by obtaining much more support in larger municipalities with younger populations (although not only those aged 18–24 but also older ones), lower unemployment, higher turnout, and lower support for leftist parties. Thus, from a spatial perspective, the patterns of Pirate voting largely resembled long-term spatial support for Czech rightist parties and we can conclude that the Pirates made considerable inroads to regions which had historically been strongholds of the Civic Democratic Party, as the former main party of the right, but also strongholds of minor right-wing (‘liberal centre’) parties of the 1990s and early 2000s. Success of the Pirates thus was based especially on votes from municipalities located in more developed areas, where the Pirates received many more votes than in structurally disadvantaged regions.

All factors point to left-right coalition in Portugal

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Euro Area ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Parliamentary Election ◽  
Opinion Poll ◽  
Fiscal Consolidation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Electoral Cycle ◽  
Opinion Polls

Subject The outlook for the October 4 parliamentary election. Significance The October 4 parliamentary election will be the first since Portugal exited its euro-area/IMF bailout. The poll launches a Portuguese electoral cycle which includes the January 2016 presidential election, and a series of parliamentary elections in euro-area post-bailout states, with Spain and Ireland to follow. Opinion polls suggest a tight race between the governing two-party centre-right alliance and the main opposition Socialists (PS), but -- in contrast to other bailout states -- no breakthrough by any new or radical force. Impacts Given the closeness of parties' opinion poll standings, the campaign period could be decisive. Whatever its make-up, the next government is likely to be committed to fiscal consolidation and Portugal's post-bailout obligations. An election win for Portugal's governing centre-right would be a pre-election fillip for its counterpart in Spain.

scholarly journals El sistema electoral francés

2020 ◽  
pp. 163
Author(s):  
Olivier Lecucq
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Election ◽  
Public Life ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Political Regime ◽  
The Political ◽  
Fifth Republic ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
El Sistema ◽  
Voting Methods ◽  
Democratic Life

El sistema electoral francés, que se refiere a las elecciones «políticas», tiene varias características fundamentales. La más destacada es sin duda la elección presidencial, que es EL momento electoral en Francia y que condiciona la vida del régimen político de la Quinta República. Además, el respeto de la igualdad de sufragio, los vínculos con la nacionalidad y la competencia legislativa para regular los métodos de votación de las distintas elecciones son los aspectos más destacados en materia electoral. También es importante tener en cuenta las reformas a las que ha sido sometido, en relación con el objetivo de la paridad electoral o la reconfiguración de las elecciones parlamentarias, que actualmente se está reflejando en un proyecto de ley constitucional y una ley orgánica destinada a promover la renovación de la vida democrática y la moralización de la vida pública.The French electoral system, which concerns «political» elections, is marked by several fundamental features. The most remarkable is undoubtedly the presidential election, which is THE electoral moment in France and which conditions the life of the political regime of the Fifth Republic. Beyond that, respect for equal suffrage, the links with nationality and the exercise of legislative power to define the voting methods of the various elections are the highlights of electoral matters. It is also important to take into account the reforms that have been carried out in this area, with regard to the objective of electoral parity or the reconfiguration of parliamentary elections, which is currently being reflected in a draft constitutional law and a draft organic law designed to promote the renewal of democratic life and the moralization of public life. 

Portugal is no longer immune from the far right

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Election ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Third ◽  
The North ◽  
Core Identity ◽  
Popular Party

Significance Andre Ventura, leader of the far-right Chega (Enough) party, finished third in Portugal’s presidential election in January with 12% of the vote. Most polls now suggest that it is the third most popular party in Portugal. Chega’s core identity centres around its anti-establishment views, as well as hostility towards minority groups, in particular the Roma community. Impacts Local elections in October will be a stronger barometer of Chega’s appeal in Portugal than the presidential election. If Chega continues to expand its support, Portugal’s other right-wing parties could adopt some of its views and rhetoric. Chega founder Ventura’s association with Benfica football club could damage his appeal in the north, where arch-rival Porto dominates. Like other far-right parties, Chega could transition from advocating neoliberalism to more popular economic positions over time.

Spanish government should survive its full term

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Open Space ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Political Uncertainty ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Content Type ◽  
People's Party ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
International Investors ◽  
The Right ◽  
Opinion Polls

Significance However, as opinion polls show that contending left- and right-wing party blocs are closer in terms of voting intentions, the government's performance and ability to collaborate with smaller parties remain key to the left’s ability to return for another term in office. Impacts Tight electoral competition between left and right points to a couple of years of political uncertainty for international investors. In the event of an early election, the most plausible scenario is a coalition of the centre-right People's Party and far-right Vox. The People's Party’s move further to the right could open space for the liberal Ciudadanos party to reclaim centrist support.

scholarly journals Rechtspopulistische Rhetorik revisited am Beispiel der FPÖ-Wahlkämpfe in den Jahren 2015 und 2016

2019 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-82
Author(s):  
Sabine Lehner
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Election ◽  
Presidential Elections ◽  
Analytical Approach ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Election Campaigns ◽  
Far Right ◽  
National Elections ◽  
Discursive Strategies

Right wing and far right parties have recently succeeded in many elections worldwide. The Austrian Freedom Party (Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, FPÖ), one of the most successful right-wing populist parties of Europe, has lately also enjoyed great popularity in regional and national elections. Norbert Hofer, the FPÖ-candidate, even made it to the run-offs of the presidential election in 2016. This paper draws on a discourse-analytical approach and investigates the discursive strategies implemented by the FPÖ during two election campaigns (the 2015 local elections in Vienna and the 2016 presidential elections). Based on various discursive events of both campaigns (speeches, posters, TV-discussions etc.), this contribution examines if recent right-wing populist rhetoric corresponds to well-known patterns or if there have been some shifts.

scholarly journals Bloody Revolutions, Fascist Dreams, Anarchy and Peace: Crass, Rondos and the Politics of Punk, 1977–84

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsty Lohman ◽  
Matthew Worley
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Political Violence ◽  
Political Movements ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
National Boundaries

On 8 September 1979, the English punk bands Crass and Poison Girls played a benefit gig with the Dutch punk band Rondos at London's Conway Hall. The gig has become notorious in British punk history due to the violence that broke out between right-wing and left-wing factions, bringing to the fore wider political tensions evident across punk's fragmented milieu. Not only did it embody the attempts of the far-right and far-left to co-opt punk's rebellion, but it also brokered a debate as to the nature of punk's politics and its relationship to existing political movements. In many ways, punk's politics – especially the overt politics of bands such as Crass and Rondos – was defined against the systematic ideologies of the left and right. Nevertheless, the controversy that followed the Conway Hall gig ended the transnational friendship that had been established between the bands, leading to a protracted debate on questions of political violence, pacifism and anarchism. This article provides a comparative study of punk politics. In particular, it explores the different social and political contexts that informed punk in Britain and the Netherlands, revealing how punk cultures transmitted, mutated and evolved across national boundaries.

Religious practice versus subjective religiosity: Catholics and those with ‘no religion’ in the French 2017 presidential election

2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 164-181
Author(s):  
Claude Dargent
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Election ◽  
Religious Practice ◽  
Alternative Measure ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Far Right ◽  
The Social ◽  
Electoral Behaviour ◽  
Rural Character ◽  
Contemporary Catholicism ◽  
Insight Into

Since the 1930s, the frequency of mass attendance has been the most widely used indicator of involvement in Catholicism in France. Yet its validity is sometimes debated: to what extent can subjective religiosity constitute an alternative measure? Both indicators seem closely related. However, the social distributions they perform diverge at the margin. And the large sample on which this research is based reveals changes in contemporary Catholicism – particularly with regard to the urban rather than rural character of today’s practitioners. Electoral behaviour is also used in this article as a touchstone for the comparison of the two indicators. Previous research has established the strong link between Catholic religious practice and right-wing – but not far-right – voting. Despite the singularity of the 2017 election, the analysis establishes that this still holds true – and that the combination of these two indicators allows for subtler insight into this link.

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