I know I said I would desist from obsessing about the American condition and the political landscape, but there are democratic decisions being contemplated which effect our lives. I cannot not make comment.
It would appear that there are a number of elections happening soon on the African continent as well as in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and the Southern Hemisphere.
Haiti has a general election on the 13th December, the United States has a mid term legislative election on 3 November. Israel is due to have a legislative election on the 27th October. The Palestinian’s are meant to have some sort of legislative election on the 28th November, although due to the wars, there have been no elections for over 20 years.
In Europe there is a general election due in Bosnia and Herzegovina on the 4th October. Bulgaria has presidential elections on the 25th October. In Germany there are a number of State elections coming up this month. Tomorrow on the 6th September voters in Sachsen-Anhalt will vote for representatives to the Land Parliament, on the 13 September there will be a Municipal election in Niedersachsen, and on the 20th September there will be be an election to the Land Parliament of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and in Berlin election of the House of Representatives Both Germany and France are leading up to Presidential elections on 30th January 2027 and 18th April 2027 respectively.
The local elections in Germany may well give an indication of how the AfD will fare in January. The AfD are already quite strongly represented in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern with 35% of the vote in last election, and in Sachsen-Anhalt which had 37.1% of the vote in last election. Election turnout was around 80%. Clearly the election in Sachsen-Anhalt, which is already favouring the AfD, may give some indication if the numbers increase by a great deal. I have no real knowledge of German politics, but given the high turnout of the electorate generally, in might be possible to make assumptions. East Germany is very heavily in favour of the AfD. It would seem that the 40 years of living under the late German Democratic Republic has conditioned the local populace to authoritarian government. Just looking at the political map is like looking at what was once a divided Germany. It seems it still is.
Kosovo has a presidential election on the 5th October, Latvia has legislative elections on the 3rd October.. Sweden is due to have legislative elections on the 13th September. Switzerland us due a presidential election in December.
One the other side of the world from Europe, New Zealand has a legislative election due on 7th November.
As to Russia, there is due to be a legislative election on the 18th September, although to what end I am not sure. Whatever group that is approved by Putin will of course be elected. Unlike Trump, he really can control the vote.
The big one of course is the 3rd November 2026 in the United States. Will the American electorate finally give the United States Congress its power to checks and balances as intended by the Constitution. Will a clear message be sent to the Supreme Court that it should abandon its supplicant attitude to the current executive? Will they return to a more properly independent judicial body, setting aside political bias, which can do its proper part in checking Presidential and Congressional powers? Over the next 60 days political propaganda will permeate the country. Trump’s latest attempts to suppress voting by executive order, has lead to a last minute scramble to safeguard the right to vote through the courts. The lower courts have taken a stand. Will the supreme court step up as it should?
The real tragedy is that there is any question or doubt about the outcome of the coming vote. The idea of keeping an Al Capone clone in the white house has surely been realised as a serious mistake. Keeping him in check and opening him to the judicial consequences of his criminal venality and fraud must surely be of paramount importance if the world is going to return to more civilised intelligent behaviour.
Likewise in Britain, the Reform party has been exposed as the acquisitive society. Anything to get as much money as possible to fill their coffers and keep their leader in wealth, able to run around the country from pub to pub, downing pints, scoffing pasties and chips, exuding bonhomie. Future Prime Minster? You’re ‘avin’ a larff! aincha?
The ridiculous charade of Farage cosying up to Jordan Bardella, French politician of the far right and current President of the Rassemblement National (National Rally), who sees himself as the next French Prime Minister under the presidency of Marine Le Pen, is truly laughable; yet, there they were surrounded by a disturbing number of people. Even more disturbing were another group of dark clothed, balaclava sporting, idiots blocked the roads to Dover in protest at immigration. Where do they come form? Is this what Britain has become?
