Who would you vote for?

[Middle-aged Europe]

If they have significant presence in the country's politics, I counted them. The UKIP did very well in the EU elections and will have an affect on the Westminster Elections and the FN holds a significant portion of the French Assembly.  Lega Nord is in the same boat as the FN.

The Front National doesn´t hold a single seat in the National Assembly at the moment. Granted, they received a relatively large percentage of the vote in the parliamentary as well as the presidential election, but no FN member currently holds an elected office on national level.

[opebo]

Italy -  Don't know.  do  hey have a socialist party?

They have right wing socialists.

Well I'm mainly looking for extreme social liberal/libertarian parties here, the economics is secondary for me.

[minionofmidas]

You'll probably feel slightly more at home in the Greens than in either SPD or PDS then...although FDP might also be an option.
As for Italy...just vote for the Anti-Berlusconi coalition. They probably won't let you vote for an individual party out of it anyways.

[Kodratos]

Germany -  Socialists - is that the 'SPD'?
Spain - Socialists
Portugal - Socialists
France - Socialists
Italy -  Don't know.  do  hey have a socialist party?
Australia - 'Labour'
Canada - Liberals
United Kingdom - Liberal Democrats
Ireland - Labour

If only yourself from last year could see you now. You make me sick.

[opebo]

Germany -  Socialists - is that the 'SPD'?
Spain - Socialists
Portugal - Socialists
France - Socialists
Italy -  Don't know.  do  hey have a socialist party?
Australia - 'Labour'
Canada - Liberals
United Kingdom - Liberal Democrats
Ireland - Labour

If only yourself from last year could see you now. You make me sick.

The ability to admit error and change is admirable.  Its such a relief to be out of the Religious Party.

[Јas]

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really? I thought you'd be more for Fianna Fáil since they're the huge anti-EU folks. And you'd vote for the socialist Sinn Fein?

I dislike the FF leadership and a stronger Sinn Fein means stronger push for unification.

Fianna Fáil are not anti-EU by any real measure, and will be proposing a yes vote on the EU Constitution this autumn.

Though I must say that people who support Fine Gael and Sinn Féin are very rare, as the parties really don't see eye to eye, on just about anything.

[AuH2O]

Germany -  Socialists - is that the 'SPD'?
Spain - Socialists
Portugal - Socialists
France - Socialists
Italy -  Don't know.  do  hey have a socialist party?
Australia - 'Labour'
Canada - Liberals
United Kingdom - Liberal Democrats
Ireland - Labour

If only yourself from last year could see you now. You make me sick.

The ability to admit error and change is admirable.  Its such a relief to be out of the Religious Party.

Perhaps equally admirable to being a pedophile. What a quality person indeed.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

SPD are the Social Democrats, as Old Europe says most people think of the PDS (Party of Democratic Socialism) as the "Socialists", they are the leftmost viable party.

Italy has the Democrats of the Left, they are basically the socialist party, except they are actually the ex-communists.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

PDS is the old East German Commies with a new name

[angus]

PDS is the old East German Commies with a new name

now there are some polls from UK showing the Tories in a fairly close race against the liberals.  you buy that?  Also, I saw Major on Charlie Rose a few nights ago and he was bemoaning the electoral system, bitching about how it's possible for conservatives to actually get more real votes, but liberals can still win more seats, blah, blah, blah, like it's any different here, but anyway to the point:  Rose read off some polls which showed Tory gaining seats, and some interpreted to show them staying or even losing.  I know you follow this closely, and I'm just wondering which you believe.  Thanks.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Polls are showing a Labour lead right now. Tories have been slipping back in the past week.
Lot's of coverage in the International Elections thread

[angus]

Lot's of coverage in the International Elections thread

ah, yes.  of course.  thanks again.

[Colin]

Most conservative mainstream parties

Germany - CDU/CSU, FDP (more libertarian)
Spain - PP
Portugal - PP
France - Front National (Nationalists)
Italy - Lega Nord or Forza Italia
Australia - Liberals/Nationals
Canada - Chr. Heritage (Not really minastream though), Conservatives
United Kingdom - UKIP, Tories
Ireland - Fianna Fail

Jake you must learn the difference between Conservative/Rightist parties and neo-fascist parties. The Front National in France is a Nazi sympathizing, neo-fascist movement. Their politics are more towards the populist end than the conservative end of the political spectrum. The same is true of the Lega Nord in Italy which is more of a populist, neo-fascist party than a Conservative Party. The more obvious choices are the Alleanza Nacionale, Biancofiore, or (rather oddly) the New Italian Socialist Party in Italy. You have to see that not every party they label as being on the "right" is actually conservative or right-winged instead of authoritarian.

[Jake]

Most conservative mainstream parties

Germany - CDU/CSU, FDP (more libertarian)
Spain - PP
Portugal - PP
France - Front National (Nationalists)
Italy - Lega Nord or Forza Italia
Australia - Liberals/Nationals
Canada - Chr. Heritage (Not really minastream though), Conservatives
United Kingdom - UKIP, Tories
Ireland - Fianna Fail

Jake you must learn the difference between Conservative/Rightist parties and neo-fascist parties. The Front National in France is a Nazi sympathizing, neo-fascist movement. Their politics are more towards the populist end than the conservative end of the political spectrum. The same is true of the Lega Nord in Italy which is more of a populist, neo-fascist party than a Conservative Party. The more obvious choices are the Alleanza Nacionale, Biancofiore, or (rather oddly) the New Italian Socialist Party in Italy. You have to see that not every party they label as being on the "right" is actually conservative or right-winged instead of authoritarian.

I know the difference which is precisely why I'd vote BNP/UKIP over the Tories. Both Lega Nord and Front National are needed in a Europe overrun with Muslims and about to form a superstate controlled from Brussels.

[Emsworth]

Germany - Free Democratic Party
Spain - People's Party
Portugal - Social Democrats
France - UDF
Italy - Depends
Australia - Liberal
Canada - Liberal
United Kingdom - Tory
Ireland - Progressive Democrats

[Bono]

Most conservative mainstream parties

Germany - CDU/CSU, FDP (more libertarian)
Spain - PP
Portugal - PP
France - Front National (Nationalists)
Italy - Lega Nord or Forza Italia
Australia - Liberals/Nationals
Canada - Chr. Heritage (Not really minastream though), Conservatives
United Kingdom - UKIP, Tories
Ireland - Fianna Fail

Jake you must learn the difference between Conservative/Rightist parties and neo-fascist parties. The Front National in France is a Nazi sympathizing, neo-fascist movement. Their politics are more towards the populist end than the conservative end of the political spectrum. The same is true of the Lega Nord in Italy which is more of a populist, neo-fascist party than a Conservative Party. The more obvious choices are the Alleanza Nacionale, Biancofiore, or (rather oddly) the New Italian Socialist Party in Italy. You have to see that not every party they label as being on the "right" is actually conservative or right-winged instead of authoritarian.

That is a common misconception. the Front nationale, like the SVD in switzerland, is a paleo-conservative party that panders to the xenophobia of the voters to get votes and visibility. However, neither the FN, nor the Swiss SVD, nor some(but not all) european "extreme right" parties are fascist or Nazi, because they do not support left-wing economic policies, unlike, for instance, the British BNP, who do supprots left-wing economic policies, and who is in fact a fascist party. I suggest you read the Front National platform on theri website, it might clear some misconception I too had before reading it.

[Colin]

Most conservative mainstream parties

Germany - CDU/CSU, FDP (more libertarian)
Spain - PP
Portugal - PP
France - Front National (Nationalists)
Italy - Lega Nord or Forza Italia
Australia - Liberals/Nationals
Canada - Chr. Heritage (Not really minastream though), Conservatives
United Kingdom - UKIP, Tories
Ireland - Fianna Fail

Jake you must learn the difference between Conservative/Rightist parties and neo-fascist parties. The Front National in France is a Nazi sympathizing, neo-fascist movement. Their politics are more towards the populist end than the conservative end of the political spectrum. The same is true of the Lega Nord in Italy which is more of a populist, neo-fascist party than a Conservative Party. The more obvious choices are the Alleanza Nacionale, Biancofiore, or (rather oddly) the New Italian Socialist Party in Italy. You have to see that not every party they label as being on the "right" is actually conservative or right-winged instead of authoritarian.

That is a common misconception. the Front nationale, like the SVD in switzerland, is a paleo-conservative party that panders to the xenophobia of the voters to get votes and visibility. However, neither the FN, nor the Swiss SVD, nor some(but not all) european "extreme right" parties are fascist or Nazi, because they do not support left-wing economic policies, unlike, for instance, the British BNP, who do supprots left-wing economic policies, and who is in fact a fascist party. I suggest you read the Front National platform on theri website, it might clear some misconception I too had before reading it.

Well I would happily read it, IF IT WAS IN ENGLISH!! I took French for a while but my grasp of the language is not that great and internet translators suck.

[YoMartin]

Germany: district vote SPD, Lander vote FDP
Spain: PSOE
France: PRG if available, PS probably
Italy: PDS in L´Olivo
Canada: NDP or Liberal
UK: LibDem or Labour, the one that beats Tories in that seat

[Middle-aged Europe]

Germany: district vote SPD, Lander vote FDP

With "Lander vote" you mean the vote for the party list in national elections, yes?

That´s a fairly unusual combination nowadays since the FDP allies itself with the CDU most of the time. You should probably move to the state of Rhineland-Palatinate (last German state with a SPD/FDP coalition government).

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

Germany - CDU
Spain - PP
Portugal - PSD
France - are write-ins allowed?
Italy - Forza Italia
Australia - Liberal
Canada - Conservative (while shedding a tear for my dearly departed PC's)
United Kingdom - normally Tory, though obviously I would have made an exception on 5/5/05.
Ireland - Fianna Fail

[YoMartin]

Germany: district vote SPD, Lander vote FDP

With "Lander vote" you mean the vote for the party list in national elections, yes?

That´s a fairly unusual combination nowadays since the FDP allies itself with the CDU most of the time. You should probably move to the state of Rhineland-Palatinate (last German state with a SPD/FDP coalition government).

Yes, the party list in each Lander.

Actually, I like both FDP and Greens, and a SPD-Green vote would be more in touch with what´s going on, but I tend to support liberal parties wherever they are competitive...

[went that way]

Germany - DKP
Spain - IU
Portugal - PCP
France - LCR
Italy - Communist Refoundation Party
Australia - Workers Power
Canada - CPC
United Kingdom - CPB
Ireland - Sinn Fien

[minionofmidas]

The CPB only stood in a handful of seats, though.

[Platypus]

Who the  are 'Worker's Power'? The only even slightly mainstream ultra-leftist party in Australia is the Socialist Alliance, which stood in about 5 seats nation-wide. If that.

[minionofmidas]

If you think the DKP is any more mainstream than that, you're well mistaken. Although he does list some mainstreamish commies as well, in Spain, Portugal, Italy.