European Journal of Political Research Political Data Yearbook最新文献

Throughout the year 2024, Polish politics remained in a state of stalemate. The governing coalition's efforts to restore the rule of law were obstructed by both the President and the Constitutional Tribunal, who were loyal to the opposition. The outcomes of the regional, local and European Parliament elections demonstrated somewhat stronger popular support for the parties of the ruling coalition than the opposition. The existing high levels of political polarization heightened the significance of the presidential election scheduled for 2025.

The European Parliament elections, where incumbents fared best against the background of drawn-out war in Ukraine, only temporarily diverted the public's attention away from the insufficiently coordinated work of a razor-thin majority supporting the Siliņa I Cabinet. The government struggled to address efficiently a range of issues related to the realm of defense and transportation. This prompted the Prime Minister to publicly contemplate about a significant reshuffle, including not only ministerial portfolios within the Cabinet but also the composition of the governing coalition itself. However, a new coalition of the willing did not emerge.

The year 2024 in American politics was dominated by the forthcoming election, with the withdrawal of President Biden and his replacement by Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee, and the nomination and election of Donald Trump as the next president. The Republicans also achieved majorities in both houses of Congress.

The political year of 2024 was characterised by stability. The right-of-centre minority coalition stayed in office without serious challenges. There was a reshuffle in September, but the party composition and political direction of the government remained unchanged. Its reform agenda, with emphasis on migration and law and order, continued to be rolled out. The economy made a slight recovery, compared to 2023. Inflation went down, and public finances were in good shape. At the same time, Sweden took the final, history-making, step in the process of becoming a full member of NATO. The election to the European Parliament resulted in what is best described as status quo. The Green Party changed female spokesperson. The law on gender was changed, and the framework for fiscal policy was amended.

Following the 2023 national elections, the first half year of 2024 focused on negotiations between four parties from the centre-right to the radical right, resulting in the formation of the Schoof Cabinet. With an independent former top civil servant as Prime Minister, the new government proposed more stringent migration measures, budgetary discipline, democratic reforms and a long-term perspective for Dutch farmers, as well as a more open and transparent relationship between Parliament and the Cabinet. This marked the first time in over a century that the Prime Minister was not affiliated with one of the coalition parties. This arrangement paved the way for the most right-wing government in the Netherlands since the postwar era. In the second half of the year, however, the coalition's fragile nature became evident, as the Cabinet found itself on the brink of collapse on three separate occasions.

In 2024, Romania organized elections at all levels. Those for the Romanian and European Parliaments saw increased support for anti-system, Euroskeptic, and sovereigntist parties, which together won over one-third of the vote. The Constitutional Court's annulment of the first round of presidential elections in December allowed for new presidential elections in early 2025. The unprecedented annulment was motivated by the alleged interference of unspecified foreign powers to promote Călin Georgescu, a virtually unknown independent candidate who won a plurality of votes in the first round with support from social media outlets like Tik Tok. The Court's decision was controversial because it was announced after the votes were counted, was not fully backed by evidence, and came from justices appointed by the very parties Georgescu took a stand against. The annulment became a veritable scandal both within and outside Romania.

Slovenian voters were asked to decide on several topics at consultative referenda in 2024 alongside the European Parliament (EP) election, all held in June. The year brought mixed feelings concerning the coalition government. These ranged from several changes in ministerial positions, quite low support for individual government parties at the EP election, entanglement in corruption(-risk) affairs, a confrontation with doctors being on strike and judges protesting, to victory at all four referenda and certain progress with the promised reforms. The whole of Slovenian politics at the end of a year became embroiled in a farce with respect to the referendum on expanding the Krško nuclear power plant that, after it was called, was later abandoned. Politics was clearly divided on the question of recognising Palestine, whereas the party arena saw the (announcement) establishment of several new parties.

In Spain, the year 2024 was marked by both regional and European elections and an increasingly difficult political environment for the left-wing governing coalition. The political agenda was dominated by these elections, an Amnesty Law, and several accusations of corruption around the governing Socialist Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Español) and President Pedro Sánchez. Sum Up proved its limitations as a leftist force beyond national elections, while competition on the right between the People's Party (Partido Popular, PP) and Vox parties continued, leading to Vox excluding itself from coalitions with the PP at the regional level. This will be remembered as the year in which a cold drop (DANA) hit Valencia with deadly results, unleashing a political crisis. Meanwhile, the Spanish economy and labor market performed well.

Parliamentary elections in 2023 brought in a discourse on debt. Power was passed from the Marin I to the Orpo I government. This was historically the most right-wing government to date in Finland, whose formation also took historically long but finally united both the populist-nativist right with the liberal right in the same coalition. The ministerial appointments raised questions among the opposition, and the issue of racism was discussed in connection to the coalition partners. The government's austerity policies sought to limit the power of trade unions, which in turn generated strong reactions. Proposals to limit strike action were faced with opposition. As the three largest parties shifted around, the political centre chose to remain in the opposition and also took issue with the underfunding of social services. The parliamentary polarisation formed a stark contrast to the consensual way in which Finland had approached North Atlantic Treaty Organisation membership, for which a compatible institutional setting was built.