Ballot to Talk About

We are back and getting ready for a huge month of elections all over the world! This week's episode takes a look at the upcoming Canadian Federal Election, triggered in the past few weeks by Justin Trudeau attempting to regain a majority government. It also takes a look at the results from Nova Scotia where Tim Houston’s Progressive Conservative Party pulled off a huge upset in the Canadian province.

Justin Trudeau is seeking a third term in just over three weeks time, so Sam and Chern take the opportunity to look at the state of the parties as they kickstart their campaigns and set out what we might be looking at as the election period goes on. Why has the Liberal Party been the traditional party of government in Canada? What has stalled the momentum Trudeau had heading into this election? How can the Conservatives convert their strong poll numbers into an election victory? Will the NDP ever manage to be a party of government? All these questions and more answered in this week’s podcast.

This week's episode is all about reshuffles, focussing on major Cabinet reshuffles that have recently taken place in Spain and India. Narendra Modi has expanded his Cabinet once again and has boosted representation of Uttar Pradesh citizens in anticipation of next year’s state elections. Was this reshuffle an admission that the Government has got things wrong? What is the purpose of Amit Shah’s expanded portfolio? Why is the Indian Cabinet so big?

In Spain, Pedro Sanchez has significantly changed his Cabinet, moving some allies and trying to tackle some recent controversies. Will this reshuffle help the party’s floundering opinion poll ratings? Why has the reshuffle happened now, and is the 2017 Catalan referendum still a factor? Do the changes signal a policy shift or is it simply a personnel change? All these questions, and more, answered in this week's podcast.

This week's episode focusses on some recent developments in the United States, assessing the closing cases of the 2020-21 Supreme Court session and discussing Eric Adams’ victory in the New York City Democratic Primary. The new Conservative supermajority on the Supreme Court finished the latest session with some rulings on voting rights, non-profit donors and a third look at the Affordable Care Act, but did they flex their new majority as frequently as we would expect? Is the Roberts Court still as incrementalist as it was prior to the newest Trump appointees? What cases are there to look ahead to in the 2021-22 term?

A few weeks on from the results of the New York City primary finally getting published, Sam and Chern take a look at how Eric Adams managed to win this hotly contested race. Why did Andrew Yang fare so badly after starting with the highest name recognition and energy? Why is the position of New York City Mayor so significant? Do the Republicans have any chance of winning the office in November? All these questions, and more, answered in this week's podcast.

This week's Olympic-themed episode focusses on the politics and parties of Japan, as the cauldron is lit to kickstart the controversial postponed 2020 Games in Tokyo. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s Liberal Democratic Party is suffering a backlash for giving the Games the green light, and the new prominent opposition party – the Constitutional Democratic Party – made gains in this month’s Tokyo prefectural elections ahead of an Autumn General Election.

As the Games gets underway, Sam and Chern take a look at why Japan has been dominated by one-party pretty much persistently since 1955 and assess why the various opposition parties have struggled to have a significant impact. Why have the Games been so unpopular in the last twelve months, and will Covid-19 cost Suga his premiership? Why has the prominent opposition party changed so frequently in the last few decades? Is a truly left-wing Government possible in Japan? All these questions, and more, answered in this week's podcast.

This week's episode focusses on two elections held last weekend in Eastern Europe – parliamentary elections in Moldova and Bulgaria. In Moldova, recently-elected President Maia Sandu’s PAS triumphed with the largest vote share in Moldovan history, gaining the party’s first ever majority. What has been key to Sandu’s appeal? Is there a route back for the socialist and communist tradition after this overwhelming defeat?

In Bulgaria, Boyko Borisov has once again failed to gain enough seats to form a stable government and continue his premiership, whilst Slavi Trifonov’s There is Such a People Party has won an election for the first time after less than two years in existence. Will Bulgaria be facing a third election this year? Is Boyko Borisov’s role at the top of Bulgarian politics officially over after the second poor election result in three months? Will Slavi Trifonov manage to get some allies to govern after announcing his intention to form a Government alone? All these questions, and more, answered in this week's podcast.

This week's episode concludes our European-themed month to mark the postponed 2020 Euros tournament by talking about the parties and politics of one of the finalists - Italy. It also includes an update on Northern Ireland leadership a week on from Jeffrey Donaldson becoming the third DUP leader in two months, and the change of leadership in the Australian National Party, with Barnaby Joyce reclaiming his position as Deputy Prime Minister.

Just a few months on since the formation of the new technocratic government under Mario Draghi, Sam and Chern look at the state of the ever-fluctuating Italian party system, talking about trends which have dominated the national picture in recent years. What has been key to the longevity of Silvio Berlusconi, and to what extent does Forza Italia exist beyond him as an individual? How does Italy have the political space for two far-right parties to be performing well at the same time? What went wrong for Matteo Renzi? What is the ideological position of the Five Star Movement, and are they truly office-seeking by nature? All these questions, and more, answered in this week's podcast.

This week's episode continues our European-themed month to mark the postponed 2020 Euros tournament by talking about the parties and politics of Austria. It also includes analysis of the election results in Armenia where Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party once again won a majority in the aftermath of the Nagorno-Karabakh War. Additionally, it features a review of the Mongolian presidential election from earlier this month.

Two years on from Austria’s last election and nearly eighteen months on from the formation of the Kurz-led Peoples Party and Green coalition, Sam and Chern take a look at the main party blocs in the country and talk about their recent fortunes. Why does Austria traditionally prefer Grand Coalitions? Why have the Peoples Party fortunes varied so much in recent years? Did Sebastian Kurz’s rightward shift help his party? Why did the Green party agree to enter Government with a centre-right group? And why did the Freedom Party emerge as a prominent force before other far-right groups across Europe? All these questions, and more, answered in this week's podcast.

This week's episode continues our European-themed month to mark the postponed 2020 Euros tournament by talking about the parties and politics of Finland. It also includes analysis of the election results in Mexico where Lopez Obrador’s MORENA party was denied the supermajority it so craved. Additionally, it features a review of the Chesham and Amersham by-election where the Liberal Democrat candidate Sarah Green pulled off a big upset.

Two years on from Finland’s last election and in the week of their latest municipal elections, Sam and Chern take a look at the main party blocs in the country and talk about their recent fortunes. Why have Sanna Marin’s approval ratings not translated into a strong Social Democratic performance in the municipal elections? What are the consequences of Finland having three major governing parties? What has prompted the rise of the far-right Finns Party across the country? All these questions, and more, answered in this week's podcast.

This week's episode continues our European-themed month to mark the postponed 2020 Euros tournament by talking about the parties and politics of Belgium. It also includes analysis of the election results in Peru where Pedro Castillo looks like he will become the next President, defeating three-time candidate Keiko Fujimori. Additionally, it features a review of the results in Saxony-Anhalt where the CDU have outperformed polls in a strong result in the final state election before September’s federal election.

Two years on from Belgium’s last election and another long cycle of government formation, Sam and Chern take a look at the main party blocs in Flanders and Wallonia and talk about the unique linguistic divide of Belgian politics. Why does Flanders have a strong nationalist cleavage, whereas Wallonia still sees traditional ideological battles? Why has Wallonia moved towards more left-wing politics whilst Flanders drifts towards the right? And why does Belgium take so long to form their governments after elections? All these questions, and more, answered in this week's podcast.