Ballot to Talk About

This week Sam and Chern review the results from Australia’s Federal Election. Anthony Albanese has led his Labor Party to a surprise landslide victory, but where was this election won? What is next for the Liberal Party as they seek a new leader? How did Independents and minor parties fare, and did they underperform relative to expectations? And how will this landslide majority govern? All these q...

This week Sam and Chern review the results from Canada’s Federal Election. Mark Carney has led his Liberal Party to a fourth term in Canada, but where was this election won? Why did the Liberals miss out on a majority? What is next for Pierre Poilievre as he seeks a return to Parliament? And how stable is this minority Government with the NDP left soul-searching? All these questions and more answe...

In this week’s episode, Sam and Chern break down the results of Ecuador’s Presidential Election and look ahead to the upcoming snap election in Portugal. As Daniel Noboa begins his first full term as President of Ecuador, they discuss how he managed to win again. Do Correa-backed candidates have a natural ceiling? In Portugal, will their third election in four years produce more political stabilit...

This week Sam and Chern preview the upcoming Federal Election in Australia. Anthony Albanese is seeking to avoid being the first Prime Minister in almost 100 years not to see his party win a second term. Why has the opinion polling narrowed since the start of the year? What should Peter Dutton’s campaign focus be? What are the key seats and regions to watch that will decide this election? And afte...

This week Sam and Chern preview the upcoming Federal Election in Canada. As new Prime Minister Mark Carney rolls the dice and seeks a fourth term for his Liberal Party, Pierre Poilievre is seeking to make him Canada’s shortest-serving leader. What has motivated the Liberal surge in the opinion polls? Where will this election be won and lost? How can Pierre Poilievre put his Conservative party back...

This week focusses on election results in Western Australia and Delhi, India. As WA Labor wins a historic third term, how did they manage another landslide? Why did the Liberals fail to gain significant ground? And what are the federal implications with a national election around the corner? And as the BJP return to power in Delhi after nearly three decades, what has motivated their revival? After...

This week’s episode dissects results from the recent German Federal Election and this week’s provincial election in Ontario, Canada. As Friedrich Merz begins negotiations to become Chancellor, Sam and Chern ask how the CDU were able to win? Is a CDU-SPD Grand Coalition now inevitable? What is next for the AfD? And what was behind the Left resurgence? And in Ontario, how did Doug Ford win a third s...

This week’s episode breaks down results from the 2024 federal election in Belgium, whilst looking ahead to the upcoming snap federal election in Germany. In Belgium, a government agreement has been signed 8 months on, leading to their first Flemish Nationalist Prime Minister. Why did the Government negotiation take half the time as last time? And why have the right-wing Reformist Movement topped t...

The first episode of the year looks ahead to the year 2025 in politics and elections, discussing the polls to look out for and the themes we might be talking about as the year rolls on. Whilst not as busy as the big political year of 2024, the year sees scheduled elections in significant and fascinating democracies of Germany, Canada, Australia, Chile, Argentina, Norway, and many others. This week...

This week’s episode takes a look back at the political year that was 2024. Sam and Chern discuss the most notable moments, elections and figures of the year as they discuss their Political Awards. What were the most consequential and surprising election results? What was the most WTF moment of the year? Who was the worst Politician of the Year? And who will take home the main awards of Male and Fe...

This week’s episode breaks down results from legislative elections in both Iceland and Ireland. In Iceland, incumbent coalition partners see historic poor performances, whilst the Social Democrat Alliance reap the rewards. Why did the incumbent parties perform so badly? And what will the next Government look like? In Ireland, as a Fine Gael-Fianna Fáil coalition looks set to be revived, Sam and Ch...

This week’s episode breaks down results from elections in three Canadian provinces and looks ahead to an upcoming snap polling day in Nova Scotia. Sam and Chern discuss differing fortunes for incumbents in British Columbia, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan as the federal parties look ahead to the imminent election. Why did incumbents survive in BC and Saskatchewan in an anti-incumbent international...

This week’s episode discusses the results from the US Presidential and Congressional elections that saw Donald Trump return to the White House and his Republican Party seemingly take full control of Congress. How did Trump become only the second person to win two non-consecutive presidential terms? What do the Democrats need to do next? Why did down ballot Democrats so significantly outperform Kam...

This week’s episode discusses results from legislative elections in both Lithuania and Japan. In Lithuania, the Social Democrats have topped the polls, ending Ingrida Šimonytė’s premiership. How did they manage to win the election? What will the next Government look like, and who will be Prime Minister? In Japan, new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s snap election gamble has backfired. Why did the L...

This week, Sam and Chern dissect results from two regional elections in Australia, in the ACT and Queensland. In the ACT, the Labor Party continued their dominance, but there is a change of the guard in Queensland, with the Liberals preventing a fourth Labor term. Can Labor be beaten in the ACT? Why did they lose control in Queensland? What will the federal implications be with a federal election...

This week’s episode continues the preview of the upcoming elections in the US, focussing on the Gubernatorial races and the Harris-Trump presidential contest at the top of the ticket. Sam and Chern unpack the state of the race heading into the final few weeks. What have been the main themes of the election? What are the states to watch out for? Are Harris or Trump riding coattails of any Gubernato...

This week, Sam and Chern dissect results from the Austrian legislative election, and the presidential contest in Sri Lanka. In Austria, the Freedom Party came first for the first time, but why were they so popular in this cycle? Why did the Peoples Party perform so poorly? And despite this, why are they still the kingmakers in Government? In Sri Lanka, how did Anura Kumara Dissanayake triumph? Wha...

This week, Sam and Chern unpack results from three German Landtag elections in the East of the country – Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg. As the AfD scored their best regional results ever, what has been key to the far right’s success in Germany? Does the Brandenburg result suggest a glimmer of hope for the SPD on the federal level? Can the CDU cooperate with the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance in Go...

This week, Sam and Chern begin their preview of the upcoming US elections, focussing on the battle for Congress in the House and Senate. How has Biden’s decision to exit the presidential race affected the battle to control the legislative chambers? What are the competitive House districts and Senate seats that will decide control? Will there be any major examples of spilt-ticketing across the coun...

This week, Sam and Chern turn their attention to Australia, reviewing the election in the Northern Territory, and previewing upcoming polls in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Queensland. In the Northern Territory, why did the Labor Party lose power so decisively? Why were the Country Liberals so successful? After a period of complete control of mainland Australia, is Labor’s star fading...

Returning earlier than expected for an emergency episode, Sam and Chern discuss Joe Biden’s historic decision to withdraw from the 2024 Presidential Election and the state of this renewed race. Why did Biden choose to withdraw from the race, and was it a surprise how quickly the party adopted Kamala Harris as the replacement? Why did Harris pick Tim Walz as her running mate? Is she re-forming the...

In this week’s episode, Sam and Chern discuss the surprise results from the snap French legislative election and unpack the Starmer Cabinet in the UK just over a week on from the General Election. How did the New Popular Front pull off a first place finish in this snap election? Why did the National Rally fall far short of expectations? And as talks begin, what kind of Government is possible in th...

In this 2024 UK General Election special, Sam and Chern discuss the results as they unfolded throughout the night. Sir Keir Starmer has become UK Prime Minister following a landslide victory, but there were so many stories underneath the surface. How did the Labour Party win such a commanding majority? Which seats provided the most interesting stories throughout the night? As the Lib Dems notch up...

Sam and Chern look back at results from South Africa’s General Election, and conclude their preview of the UK General Election, focussing on Northern Ireland and Scotland. In South Africa, the ANC have failed to obtain a majority for the first time since 1994 and have formed a unity coalition with the Democratic Alliance. Why did the ANC choose the DA and not the EFF or Zuma’s MK Party? And is Cyr...

Sam and Chern look back at results from the giant election for the new European Parliament. In a changing European political landscape, where were the key losses or successes for the party blocs? Did the far-right surge occur as extensively as observers expected? And as the tussle for the European Union top jobs intensifies, who are we likely to see get roles? All these questions and more answered...