2010: The Year of the Right

Well we are not far from the end of this year known as 2010. Whether it has been good or bad I do not know, but in the end it has been an exciting year. Protests, riots, elections, etc… Have all made for a quite entertaining and thought provoking year. However there is one thing that you probably have not thought of, the year 2010 has been the year that the right has marched strong. Sweeping election surprises across the West with virtually all of them handing a win to the reinvigorated right-wing.

Let us just take a look back this past year at some of the elections throughout the West world.

Dutch General Election

This election gave the win to Mark Rutte of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy. The Conservative liberal was launched into office with the collapse of the Christian Democratic Appeal which lost 20 seats in the Dutch House of Representatives. However the most impressive showing of this election was for the right-wing party led by the firebrand Geert Wilders of the Party for Freedom.

Campaigning on a platform of promoting Dutch values, cracking down on immigration, Islam, and mosques, they won a total of 24 seats up 15 from their previous election. Garnering 15.5% of the popular vote and 16% of the seats in the Dutch House of Representatives they became a thorn in the side of any new coalition government.

On September 28 the parties of VVD and PVA reached an agreement to form a coalition, and included a “toleration agreement” with PVV. The deal was reached and on October 14 the Cabinet Rutte was sworn in by the Queen.

United Kingdom General Election

With confidence in the Labour government of Great Britain led by Prime Minister Gordon Brown collapsing came the rise of the Liberal Democrat Nick Clegg who began to surge in the polls come March and April. The internet was abuzz with posts of a possible Liberal led government however these posts were defeated when the Conservative Party of David Cameron brought the hammer down by winning a total of 306 seats in the House of Commons, gaining 97 seats.

The Liberal Democrats ended up losing 5 seats and gaining 1% more votes than the previous election. However with the Conservative Party holding only 306 seats it did not have enough to form a majority government, at this time both the Labour and Conservative Party were scrambling to reach a deal with the Liberal Democrats to launch their party into power. David Cameron was able to sway Nick Clegg to his side and formed a Lib-Con coalition.

After the election some of the new government wasted no time attacking the size of government by slashing public benefits, selling off public land, cutting defense spending, hiking tuition costs, and now enacting a row of public sector job cuts come early 2011. This could quite possibly be the most Conservative government since or even more than Margaret Thatcher’s government of the 1980’s.

Czech Legislative Election

In the Czech Republic the economy was taking a toll on the two major parties. With both the Center-left CSSD and the Center-right ODS losing seats in the Czech Chamber of Deputies a new right-wing party emerged with a strong and charismatic leader who was popular among the Czech citizens. TOP 09 gained a stunning 41 seats and 16.70% of the vote finishing third in the popular vote and seats.

The anti-corruption crusade party known as Public Affairs also gained many of seats, 24 to be exact, and along with Civic Democratic Party and TOP 09, they formed the new government of the Czech Republic based on a Fiscally Conservative Center-right coalition.

This marked the rise of two new Conservative parties in the Czech Republic which gained immense popularity cumulating in a huge electoral success for the new coalition which holds 146 of the 200 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.

Hungarian Parliamentary Election

Arguably the most powerful and interesting election in 2010 occurred in the country of Hungary where the governing Hungarian Socialist Party basically collapsed, losing 131 seats, leaving it with just 59 seats of 386 in the Országgyűlés and a popular vote total of 19.30%. At the same time the Hungarian center-right Fidesz Party surged to power with 263 seats, a gain of 99, and 52.73% of the popular vote.

What makes this election special however was the rise of the third party, JOBBIK. They entered the Hungarian national government for the first time with 47 seats and 16.67% of popular vote along with a very staunch right-wing political agenda centered on Nationalism, law and order, tradition, and anti-globalism. This led to European press labeling the party “anti-Semitic” and “Fascist”, which the party staunchly denies.

This surprising win for the right-wing led to thunderous applause by Nationalists and Eurosceptics who seen this as another repudiation of the policies foisted upon the peoples of Europe by Brussels, the elite, and the Zionists. Quite possibly this is the most right-wing party elected to any EU nations government.

Swedish General Election

The election in Sweden seen the entrance to the Riksdag of the right-wing Sweden Democrats who ran on a platform of anti-immigration, supporting the welfare state, and anti-Islamism. This proved to be a surprising election as the Swedish Social Democrats lost 18 seats dropping from 130 to 112. The Alliance consisting of the Moderate Party, Liberal People’s Party, Centre Party, and Christian Democrats, won yet again losing only 5 seats compared to the Red-Greens coalition losing 15 seats.

Sweden Democrats did not make it into the new cabinet however and we rejected by both coalitions due to their political positions and their blatant violation of ‘politically correct’ speech. Picking up 20 seats and 5.70% of the popular vote this led to protests in the Kingdom from the Left in opposition to the party entering government.

During the election SD was heavily ostracized by both sides of the aisle, the party’s campaign ad was blocked from airing by the privately owned television network, TV4. The campaign video was then uploaded to Youtube and viewed more than 600,000 times. It also proved important and controversial as this party use to sponsor members marching through streets wearing SS uniforms and many were proud Nazis and Fascists, however for this election they forced these people out of their party to make their appearance more moderate for voters.

United States House of Representatives Elections

In the United States elections for the House of Representatives the Tea Party Movement proved crucial and was a major force for Conservative outreach and empowerment. Gaining traction in February of 2009 and building momentum up until the election, giving the Republicans the sway they needed to not only reclaim the House of Representatives but to nearly flip the entire House. The Republicans clipped an enormous 63 seat gain growing from 179 to 242 seats and the Democrats plummeting from 256 to 193 seats.

Running on a platform of less debt, lower taxes, fiscal conservatism, cracking down on illegal immigration, and repealing Obama’s healthcare reform they managed to sway voters back to their party. The election was signified with deep Liberal pessimism and apathy towards the Democratic Party and President Obama for what they perceived as a lack of motivation and determination to fight for more Progressive causes such as Public Option, stronger financial reform, larger stimulus, and ending the wars.

This election gave Republicans more seat gains than the ‘Republican Revolution’ of 1994. Yet they still failed to take the Senate back from the Democrats which many analyze believe is due to the nomination of many ‘fringe’ candidates such as Christine O’Donnell and Sharron Angle. Leaving a split government consisting of a Republican House of Representatives (242-193), a Democratic Senate (51+2, 47), and a Democratic President.




Please remember there were other elections in the western world that were not mentioned here. The right-wing did not win in every national election in the west but overall their gains were seen as strong. Many attribute these gains to a growing sense of frustration among Westerners about the growing number of particularly Arab Immigrants and a ‘clash of civilizations’. These elections were strongly shaped by the current state of the economy in the West which is riddled with high unemployment, debt, and outsourcing.

2011 is almost here and when it arrives the elections will begin in many western nations where the right could either continue their march or they could lose their footing and stumble backwards into the shadows of obscurity.

I put all that time into this thread and it does not get one response.

I am offended.

reply to post by Misoir


It is interesting, but kind of predicable, to note that the "Right" did not win on the "Left" Coast in the US.

You would think that given the many economic factors you outlined, that there would be a change from left to right, especially in California--which is in dire straits--i.e., "bankrupt".....

And I'm sure that you've done this, but if you look at the election results maps, most of the Democratic votes came from Coastal California with huge population centers like San Diego, LA, and the SF bay area. These all showed up as "blue." However, the vast state was "red" otherwise, except for maybe Sacramento. So this may have played a factor in outcomes.

However, in California, the "Right" didn't play their cards right with putting up Meg Whitman (former E-bay exec) for governor, or Carly Fiorino (former HP exec) for senator. While females, they truly represent the elite....I think Whitman set a national record for her expenitures on campaigns....and that in itself doesn't sit well in a down economy.

This, combined with Reid's (NV) rival, who was a Tea-Partier, and threw out extreme view-points such as "stop all social security" with a large population of retirees, were down-points in "Right" strategies, IMO.

As for other countries, I can't really comment on other than reading your post, and watching the UK debate.

If the "Right" wants to continue in 2011 and 2012, then they need to get more in touch with their demographic bases, I think....

Other thoughts?

Seems like thorough analysis Misoir, although that I would argue that New Labour in the UK under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were more Tory Lite, than a real left wing Labour government, envisioned by its creators. Those of us on the left in the UK, feel our side has been hijacked by neo liberalists and career politicians, who no longer represent the working classes of the UK, just the self serving interests of the elites.

In the states, if the "right" sticks to it's pinciples and does not allow itself to wallow in the swamp of Washington DC then it'll be a good thing.
I'm just skeptical of ANY politician right now. I'll trust the deeds.

Words? Not so much.

That need to be right is a real killer to the humanbeing

reply to post by Misoir


there is no left or right political system

it's a scam system to control votes and push controversial agendas peice by peice, you're at ats you should know that by now

I hope everyone was Right? As pessimistic as I am, they will probably muck things up and the liberals will take over as they have in the past. Politics is like a revolving door. One side screws everything up, and the other comes along as the saviors. Back and forth, back and forth, and the whole time the countries in which they govern continue to descend further and further. What we have are a bunch of snake oil salesmen, who will say anything or do anything for a vote. Lost in the malaise of the endless campaign, is integrity and true legitimate governance.

I have a conspiracy, why is every country in the west practically on the verge of collapse and riddled with debt? Perhaps, the benevolent BS artists, have been focused on other things than doing their jobs? What we have inherited from the so called Left and Right is a glass house, and all it will take is a pebble to bring things down. So one side can spew their broken promises of honest government, reduced spending, reigning in entitlement programs, and on and on. On the other hand, the other side spews their marching orders of campaigning for the poor, equal rights for all, progressive agendas, universal healthcare, blah, blah, blah.

It has come to the point when the merry-go-round has come to a stop, and everyone deserves legitimate answers as to why every country in the developed world is on the verge of collapse? That has got to be one of the biggest conspiracy to grace the minds of modern man. As shocking as the truth may be, people need to know that their lives are on the verge getting astronomically difficult, and it would be in their best interests to start preparing. The writing is on the wall, and the first people to jet for their below ground hideaway are the same people who have been selling their empty bill of goods in these ruses known as campaigns.

The OP has made a good point, and it seems the Right has won the day. Lets see if they can put their money where their mouth is, and make the tough decisions that will come before them to hopefully cushion the fall that is on the verge of reaching fruition? Sooner or later the collapse is going to happen, and things are going to get difficult for everyone. It is inevitable and everything is being held together by rubber bands and bubble gum.

I appreciate your time bro!

Unfortunately you will need to create a thread titled "OMGZ ASSANGE NWOZ FTL!" to get many replies.

Originally posted by Misoir
I put all that time into this thread and it does not get one response.

I am offended.

i find it interesting right-wing groups who won a majority of the government seats are the same people that support or are part of the ownership of media, the manufactures of the voting machines, and the wealthest contributors and lobbyists.
my signature "always follow the money" is how everyone should connect the dots. wealth and power are NOT going to give up anything to the people that would encroach upon that wealth and power.
freedom is used by them when it is to their convienence only. rights for the people in any country are temporary priviledges that are granted until those rights start to interfere with the accumilation of that wealth. when that is jeopardized, a financial crisis happens that creates fear and chaos among the masses and forces them to be satisfied with any paid employment they can find and hold onto.
political ideals do not concern wealth and power, they play any side that happens to be "in charge" at the time.
if you do not believe what i'm saying, simply look back in history and research who monetarily gained from large political changes.

Here in the US it is often the large cities who vote left and less urban areas that vote right with some exceptions.

I hate to try and sum up US politics into little nuggets - but I'm going to do it. My little easy-bake brain sees it like this.

Things stunk under Bush. Obama and the democrats swept into office on a "hope and change" ticket that at its root contained the message, "We're not Bush or Republicans - Vote for us!!"

It worked and got them in office. The problem is - things still stink.

Now the Republicans are running on the same basic plank Obama and the Democrats used, "We are not them! Vote for us!"

This may get them in - but won't do them any good at staying in.

The US is such a shape right now that any party that wants to stay in has to actually make things better. Just being the opposite party isn't good enough to stay in power anymore.

To put it bluntly - people want the country fixed. Being the opposite party to the one currently in power may get them out and you in. But, it won't keep you unless you can actually do something besides talk.

reply to post by Misoir



Excellent overview misoir. Thank you. S&F

Will file for reference, review, and to steal quotes.

reply to post by Frogs

The US is such a shape right now that any party that wants to stay in has to actually make things better. Just being the opposite party isn't good enough to stay in power anymore.

To put it bluntly - people want the country fixed. Being the opposite party to the one currently in power may get them out and you in. But, it won't keep you unless you can actually do something besides talk.

These are relevant points, you bring out, IMO.

So much for the false dilemma, you are *either* left OR right.

Hopefully, because of the shape the US is in currently, *their* Divide and Conquer strategies won't last much longer....

reply to post by sonjah1


A very valid point.

Right now we (us voters) are basically presented with Party X and Party Y. Each with their own plans and promises to "fix it" and each with their own propaganda for their side and against the other. The only thing they won't do is work with the other side.

Honestly, I'm not 100% sure that either side "really" wants to do anything except attempt to appease the most extreme members of their base (which will usually result in polices the majority of the population won't like) and call the other side names.