European Politics

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Hm, I would have expected a lot higher percentage for Bulgaria.
 
Surprised by the high number for Portugal. That one sticks out. They're in the same league as the countries affected by the Yugoslav wars (in fact they beat Croatia). Does anyone here know why?

Surely, the Portuguese aren't exporting that many professional footballers?
 
Let's not forget that the Portuguese have unique access to Brazil.
 
I did a bit of research on this, and found the following (source):

Portuguese emigration, which decreased from an annual average of 48,000 persons during the decade 1904–13 to 37,562 in 1961, increased sharply after 1963 as a result of acute labor shortages in other European countries, especially in France and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). By 1970, it was estimated that more than 100,000 Portuguese were emigrating yearly. Legal emigration to the FRG continued to increase until November 1973, when the FRG suspended non-EC immigration. Overall, more than 130,000 Portuguese emigrated in 1973. Because of the loss of Portugal's African colonies in 1975, an estimated 800,000 Portuguese settlers returned to Portugal. Since then at least 25,000 generally return from abroad each year, mostly from other European countries or America. As of 1989, some 4,000,000 Portuguese were living abroad, mainly in France, Germany, Brazil, South Africa, Canada, Venezuela, and the US. Their remittances home came to 8.3% of the nation's GDP in 1989.

So it seems that most of the Portuguese living abroad emigrated a long time ago and simply never returned.
 
Man, the far-right is gaining everywhere. Tides are really turning in their favor. Le Pen probably doesn't win even if she advanced to the second round, which she likely will, because everyone else is gonna join forces against her, but we may be looking at a %40 second round vote for her which is insanely good for far-right in France.

But can you imagine polls being wrong again and Le Pen actually winning? The momentum would be immense.
 
She's got an interesting opponent on the rise. I put my hopes on the 39 year old Emmanuel Macron.

He used the term "liberal" to describe himself. However, he added that he is "neither right nor left", certainly "not ultra-liberal", and that he advocates "a collective solidarity". I heard a lot of people like the "neither right nor left"-thing, since they get tired of having always the same sides.

This could be the only person to stop Le Pen.
 
Is anyone paying attention to the goings-on in Romania? Generally I have sympathy for centre-left parties, but the current Romanian Social Democratic Party (PSD) is very much a gang of crooks who tried to decriminalize their own criminal behavior. Huge protests. Good to see the people of Romania are fighting for what's right.
 
Nicely done :D


Edit : I was not aware this isn't original idea. Check out other countries videos on YT also, some of them are pretty funny
 
LooseCannon said:
Is anyone paying attention to the goings-on in Romania? Generally I have sympathy for centre-left parties, but the current Romanian Social Democratic Party (PSD) is very much a gang of crooks who tried to decriminalize their own criminal behavior. Huge protests. Good to see the people of Romania are fighting for what's right.
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I have the feeling people from outside Eastern Europe have a very different perception to "left" parties than we do. Our left parties are just what's left of the old Communist party activists, plus their younger followers, who have been promised endless powers, access to government funds and shameless profiteering; same as things happened 30 years ago.
So yeah, there were protests in solidarity in Sofia too, because we know that we're all in the same boat, on any account.
(If I don't make sense, that's because a sofa fell on my head 30 minutes ago.)
 
I did wonder if it was something to do with the old communist elite. Romania's political crisis, that is, not the sofa incident.
 
Ariana said:
Our left parties are just what's left of the old Communist party activists
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So, there's only choice between corruption on one hand and and right wing/conservative on the other hand? Sad that there's no room for left-non-Communist ideals anymore. Bah. This sounds like my conservative father-in-law, once a strong Solidarity supporter (and party member), and now pro PIS (Law and Justice). Well, make that: the majority of Poland who chose that fucked up government.

The idea that conservo's/right wingers are not corrupt is a myth.
 
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In Poland there are initiatives (mostly by youngsters) to get new, more progressive/liberal (left, non-communist) parties from the ground, but it's very hard to get successful in the current climate. I expect (or at least: hope) that this will change gradually over the years.

I hope the same for the other countries with Communist past.
 
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Poland is generally seen as a positive example of transition to democracy. It's nowhere close to what Bulgaria is like in terms of corruption.
 
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