Just some food for thought.

[Keystone Phil]

Fire away. 

[Hash]

To add to the excitement, Slovenia will be lost on December 4. The governing Social Democrats are polling like 4% there now.

[redcommander]

Sweden's "right wing" government is not that right wing by most standards, but I see your point that the left in Europe is clearly in a worse off position right now than the right was in 2000.

[Beet]

In 2009 after the European Parliament elections, I was so depressed. But now, I don't mind the left not being in power at this particular moment, for reasons I've been pretty vocal about. Still, it is disturbing that outside of Latin America, and some parts of Asia, the world seems to be shifting to the right.

[Insula Dei]

I am curious what color they're gonna give Belgium when we finally have a government. Could it be that they'd judge what will likely be the cabinet governing the most to the right of any government since the 1980s as 'leftwing'?

[redcommander]

In 2009 after the European Parliament elections, I was so depressed. But now, I don't mind the left not being in power at this particular moment, for reasons I've been pretty vocal about. Still, it is disturbing that outside of Latin America, and some parts of Asia, the world seems to be shifting to the right.

Even Latin America is moving to the right.

[Beet]

In 2009 after the European Parliament elections, I was so depressed. But now, I don't mind the left not being in power at this particular moment, for reasons I've been pretty vocal about. Still, it is disturbing that outside of Latin America, and some parts of Asia, the world seems to be shifting to the right.

Even Latin America is moving to the right.

I'd still reserve that one. Latin America is still moving to the left- if anything accelerating with Mexico set to join. India is still to the left with the weakness of the BJP opposition. Thailand is to the left as I consider the current gov't, although that is disputed. Taiwan could end up moving to the left next March. So Asia is a wild-card. Mainly it's Europe, North America, Australia, and Middle East.

[Teddy (IDS Legislator)]

Its not just europe.

Carter was in the US when Trudeau was in Canada, and I'm sure they were equals out in Europe.
Reagan was in the US when Mulroney was here, and Thatcher over in the UK, and again, I'm sure equals in other places.
Then we had people like Clinton and Chretien and Blair and Schroder etc.
Now we are swinging back to the right.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The only interest in this thread (the general pattern is so well established that, meh) is further proof that mapmaking is not (and cannot be) objective.

[Keystone Phil]

mapmaking is not (and cannot be) objective.

Just for the record, check the source at the bottom of the map (if you haven't already). I wasn't responsible for it. 

[Filuwaúrdjan]

mapmaking is not (and cannot be) objective.

Just for the record, check the source at the bottom of the map (if you haven't already). I wasn't responsible for it. 

Oh, I've seen the maps before so I knew where they were from (originally) without needing to look...

[Keystone Phil]

A friend of mine noted something that I slipped by me at first: France is clearly the wrong color in the 2000 map unless they are foolishly counting Jospin as proof of a leftist government.

[Hatman 🍁]

The Globe and Mail is a sh*t paper.

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

How is the OVP-SPO coalition government considered left-wing? Idiots.

[Teddy (IDS Legislator)]

How is the OVP-SPO coalition government considered left-wing? Idiots.

How is the OVP-SPO coalition government considered left-wing? Idiots.

If the S means Socialist than it is.

[Keystone Phil]

The Globe and Mail is a sh*t paper.

They didn't produce the image.  

[rbt48]

Why isn't Norway included on the map (colored).

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Why isn't Norway included on the map (colored).

Not a member of the EU. Of course... in 2000... neither was anywhere in the old East.

[Hatman 🍁]

The Globe and Mail is a sh*t paper.

They didn't produce the image.  

I know.

[Edu]

Someone should make a 1991 Europe map to compare. Spain and France were Left wing but the UK, Portugal, Italy and Germany were right wing. Those are the ones I remember, but I'm guessing that most of the countries in Europe were right wing at the time (the elected governments, since ex soviet-sphere countries that hadn't had free elections and were probably communist or something shouldn't count).

[Verily]

There are some problems, of course. One, France and Germany are both almost certain to elect left-wing governments of some sort at their next elections, although admittedly there is still time for the right in both countries to recover. Britain also looks inclined to elect a left-wing government, though that election is far in the future (but, then again, Britain only just came out of 13 years of rule by a left-wing party yet looks ready to run back to them, hardly signs of the right's strength). Italy may also elect a left-wing government, though politics there are in flux. At the least, though, the government in Italy is now of neither the right nor the left, and given the impending election, characterizing them as right-wing is not useful. Also, some of the left-right characterizations are just not useful for understanding a country's politics--thinking of Ireland and Poland in particular here (might be true of some other Eastern European countries as well, but I'm less familiar with their politics). Also, their characterization of Greece seems... overly generous to the right (new coalition is not "center-right", at least not in partisanship), especially given the current situation in Italy and polling in other major countries (France, in particular, with elections also next year).

Overall, a snapshot in time that is true in the abstract but not at all useful for a statement that the right is "dominating" when most of the major right-wing governments on that map look ready to lose the next election.

[Teddy (IDS Legislator)]

There are certain events that when they come to pass cause all governments to lose power. If the governments were all of one stripe it might falsely look like a swing to the other.

[joevsimp]

There are certain events that when they come to pass cause all governments to lose power. If the governments were all of one stripe it might falsely look like a swing to the other.

True, but -at least in the uk- Labour's conduct and policies haven't done them any favours

[Leftbehind]

I also think that there being little distinction between the Right and Left's narrative on why it's happened, and what they propose to fix it, is precisely why we're left with "punish those in power!".

[Antonio the Sixth]

France, Italy and Germany should turn red soon...