Has there been any European government ...

[Tender Branson]

that GAINED votes in the last election, compared with the previous (pre-economic crisis) election ?

The Austrian government (SPÖ and ÖVP) could be one of the few exceptions here, because the SPÖ got 29% in 2008 and the ÖVP got 26%.

The SPÖ is now polling at 30% and the ÖVP is polling at 25%. About the same result as in the 2008 election. And when the election was held here in 2008, the economic crisis didn't even hit yet and Austria's GDP growth was still about 3%+ that year.

So, do you know any other government that managed to get an equal vote share or a better one AFTER the economic crisis hit ?

I know only governments that fell (Greece, Italy, Slovakia) and did badly in the next polls (UK, Portugal, Denmark, Ireland etc.)

[Tender Branson]

The only other example that I can think of now is Sweden, where the Alliance gained 1% from 2006 to 2010.

[Gustaf]

Was just going to say...in Sweden the government gained voted. Even more amusingly, they gained enormously compared to polling around the time of the crisis. Right before the crisis the opposition led by 20% and by election time the government beat them by more than 5%.

It should also be noted that the gain in vote share for the government coincided with a new opposition party getting into parliament, making it even more impressive.

[Tender Branson]

It should also be noted that the gain in vote share for the government coincided with a new opposition party getting into parliament, making it even more impressive.

That might be the case here too, if the Pirates manage to stay somewhat coherent by fall 2013.

[Dereich]

Last year Estonia did, with the main government party gaining an extra 1% of the vote while the main opposition lost 3%.

[You kip if you want to...]

Can we count the Scottish government?