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Why does Le Pen's percentage shock you?  10% of the world would eat paint if you spent enough money on advertisements.  I suspect a Le Pen-type candidate would gain similar support everywhere if we all had election systems like that of France.

Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
by Drew J Jones (myfriends@thisispancakes.com) on Thu Feb 1st, 2007 at 10:42:16 AM EST
Extremist parties get about 15% of the vote more or less everywhere in Europe.

"It's the statue, man, The Statue."
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Feb 1st, 2007 at 10:43:48 AM EST
[ Parent ]
They would get the same in America if we had a system that allowed for that sort of thing.  As it is, we, of course, only have the Dems and Reps, so each will, in general, absorb the extremists on its side of the aisle.  The Klan will vote Republican.  The ELF will vote Democratic.

Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
by Drew J Jones (myfriends@thisispancakes.com) on Thu Feb 1st, 2007 at 10:46:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]
No. The Klan will vote Republican, ELF will stay home or vote for a third candidate. And, as things stand presently, if we draw the line to extremism at some common measure of anti-democratism and/or support for organised violence against political opponents, the right-extremists are a much larger group than left-extremists. For that reason, any equation of left/right-extremists only serves the Right's pursuit to move the center further right, defining ever milder leftists extremists (and ever viler right-wingers just hard- or centre-right).

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Thu Feb 1st, 2007 at 12:00:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]
In teh Basque country there are no right extremists, and the 15 percent are "patriotic left". Among the youth, there are no skin-head, but "left" Basque independentist street fighters. The ceailing of electoral support for ETA's political arm has been 15% in 1998/9

"It's the statue, man, The Statue."
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Feb 1st, 2007 at 05:13:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I disagree.

This is the French Presidential election, not a parliamentary election.  Which means it's not PR, just a runoff if there is no majority.

The closest parallel I can think of is the Louisiana elections system, where former Klansman David Duke ran as a Republican, leading to the Republican party endorsing the Democratic candidate as a conseqence.  

And I'll give my consent to any government that does not deny a man a living wage-Billy Bragg

by ManfromMiddletown (manfrommiddletown at lycos dot com) on Thu Feb 1st, 2007 at 07:50:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]
The difference that matters is just that runoff: what is invisible in the single-round US elections is visible in the French, what's more, it forces different tactical play. Also, the other elections sustain a multi-party landscape from which the Presidential candidates come.

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.
by DoDo on Fri Feb 2nd, 2007 at 02:51:33 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I was surprised to learn in an earlier comment thread that France uses FPTP and that the multi-party landscape is supported mostly by agreements at the party level where the PS negotiates not to contest a few seats where some other left party has a chance or a prominent candidate.

"It's the statue, man, The Statue."
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Mon Feb 12th, 2007 at 03:51:48 AM EST
[ Parent ]

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