Tag Archives: venstre

Video: something for the Liberal Democrats to try?

By Mark Valladares | Wed 2nd November 2016 - 1:42 pm

Our Norwegian sister party, Venstre, has always been creative in their approach to politics. Instead of going into coalition with the ruling Conservatives, they entered into a confidence and supply arrangement.

This week, they published their budget proposals and issued a video to support them…

Posted in News | Also tagged europe, Norway and video | 6 Comments

5 reasons not to assume the FDP wipeout in the German elections will happen here in the UK

By Stephen Tall | Mon 23rd September 2013 - 9:10 am

An amazing result for Angela Merkel, increasing her vote and almost winning an absolute majority for the conservative CDU in her third election. A dire one for the liberal FDP, eliminated from the German Bundestag after failing to cross the 5% popular vote threshold – from 93 seats to 0 in one go. Ouch.

Part of the fun of elections in foreign countries is cherry-picking the bits of confirmation bias that suit our own weltenschaung. “Liberal party wiped out after coalition with centre-right party, eh – you just wait til …

Posted in Europe / International | Also tagged fdp, featured, germany, john pugh, matthew oakeshott and Norway | 58 Comments

Spain turns to the right – but are the voters rejecting ‘the left’ or incumbents?

By Stephen Tall | Mon 21st November 2011 - 8:00 am

As the polls had predicted, Spain has a new government: Rajoy’s right-wing Partido Popular (PP) defeated Zapatero’s left-of-centre Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE). The only surprise was the large margin of victory, 16%, the worst defeat for Spain’s socialists in their electoral history.

So yet another right-wing government takes power in a European nation. On the face of it, it seems almost perverse that at a time when confidence in the deregulated capitalist system associated with the right is at its lowest ebb that those parties which champion it are winning elections. As I noted here on LibDemVoice back in …