Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called a snap election on August 15th. Canadian voters go to the polls September 20th to decide whether to re-elect the incumbent Liberal government. A snap election is not surprising. Trudeau’s Liberals lead a Minority Government elected in 2019. This means the Liberals are the largest party but do not have enough seats to hold a majority … [Read more...] about Trudeau Gambles and calls a Snap Canadian Federal Election
International Elections
The Peculiar Nature of Off-Cycle Elections in the United Kingdom
Off-cycle elections are not perfect predictors of a future election. A single data point with lower than average turnout is vulnerable to random and parochial local events. This holds true no matter the country. There were four United Kingdom constituency by-elections – the equivalent of a U.S. Congressional special election – in the past two months. The National Conservative … [Read more...] about The Peculiar Nature of Off-Cycle Elections in the United Kingdom
David and Goliath: The Fall of Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli voters went to the polls on March 23 for the fourth election in two years, and the electorate once again returned a set of results detrimental to the construction of a majority government. I noted as much in my previous Decision Desk article on the results of the Israeli election. Neither of the two pre-election party alliances commanded a majority in the Knesset … [Read more...] about David and Goliath: The Fall of Benjamin Netanyahu
Peru, Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, and the Struggle to Change a Broken System
Latin American democracy has never lived up to its ideals and values. Two months ago, Decision Desk Headquarters analyzed the unfortunate Latin American political undercurrents of corruption, political fragmentation, “Caudillo” politicians, and wide wealth gaps. We analyzed the Ecuadorian Presidential runoff, the first round of the Peruvian Presidential Election, and the then … [Read more...] about Peru, Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, and the Struggle to Change a Broken System
Ecuador, Peru, and Chile’s Struggles With Democracy
Fragmented political systems, extreme wealth gaps, economic uncertainty, instability, corruption, authoritarian tendencies, and personality parties centered around populist political dynasties – these are the unfortunate trademarks of Latin American democracy. These tendencies historically facilitated violence, single-party rule, and military juntas, which further normalized … [Read more...] about Ecuador, Peru, and Chile’s Struggles With Democracy