Although 2024 has been called an election year, there will be no shortage of political emotions in 2025 either. Poles elect a new president, Germans and Czechs elect a new parliament. What other votes will be held in Europe?
“Euronews” website mentions that in 2024, voters around the world will decide, among other things, whether Donald Trump will win in the USA, the British conservatives will hand over power to the Labor Party, or the right-wing parties will strengthen after the election. elections to the European Parliament. And after the elections scheduled for the next 12 months, what will be the situation in Europe? The portal predicts that 2025 will bring significant political changes in the old continent.
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The most important elections in 2025 in Europe
Early parliamentary elections in Germany will be held on February 23, seven months ahead of the original date. This is the result of the fact that the Bundestag did not give a vote of confidence to Chancellor Olaf Scholz on December 16. Before the vote, Scholz himself stated that he expects early elections. Earlier, the Free Democratic Party left the ruling coalition, as a result of which the government lost its majority.
“Euronews” notes that in the new INSA survey, the CDU/CSU coalition is leading with 31% support. Friedrich Merz, the candidate of the Christian Democratic Party for the position of chancellor, proposes, among other things: a policy that is economically more liberal, but socially conservative. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is second in the poll with 20.5 percent.
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Euronews called Poland’s presidential election in May “a referendum on Donald Tusk’s government”, which will be in power from December 2023, and “left-wing parties joining the centre-right”. The portal reminds that the upcoming presidential race will support the clash of candidates of the two main parties, Rafal Trzaszkowski from KO and Karol Nawrocki from PiS.
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Croats also elect a president – on January 12, there will be a second round of presidential elections between Zoran Milanovic, who is seeking re-election, and Dragan Primorac, the ruling candidate of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).
Presidential elections in Romania will also be held in 2025. This is the result of the decision of the Constitutional Court of the country, which in early December declared the first round of voting on November 24, a few days before the second round, invalid. This turn of events came as a result of the release of intelligence reports by the Supreme Council of National Defense (CSAT) which showed that in the first round there were cyber-attacks on the election systems that were allegedly carried out by Russia. In the void round, pro-Russian politician Calin Georgescu won, whose sensational success experts attribute to the TikTok campaign. Previously, he was a relatively unknown figure on the Romanian political scene.
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In turn, the Belarusian presidential election is scheduled for January 26, but the result is already known. In the previous elections in 2020, widespread fraud was observed, and according to official results, Alexander Lukashenko won with 80% support. After the election, demonstrations of Lukashenko’s opponents began. According to Belarusian human rights defenders from the Viasna organization, post-election repressions are still ongoing.
In turn, the Czechs will elect the members of the new parliament in October. The party of former Prime Minister Andrey Babish currently has 34.5 percent of the vote. support and a large advantage over the Citizen-Democratic Party (ODS) of the current Prime Minister Petro Fiala, with 13.7 percent of the people who want to vote for it. voters. A possible victory for Babis, nicknamed the “Czech Trump”, will strengthen the right-wing forces in Central Europe, and many Czechs see a threat to democracy if he returns to power, Euronews reports.
There are also parliamentary elections in Norway, where the extremist Progress Party is likely to gain strength, and a presidential election in Ireland, after which Michael Higgins will end his term in office after 14 years.
Local elections are a test of government
This year, some leaders will face the most important tests of their leadership to date. This concerns Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, as local elections will be held in September in six Italian regions: Puglia, Campania, Marche, Tuscany, Aosta Valley and Veneto. According to the news agency “Euronews”, this election will show how the Italians evaluate the government of the right-wing prime minister.
British workers can also expect their first serious test since last year’s national election. Local elections will be held in Great Britain in May, which, according to Euronews, will show whether their victory last year was the beginning of lasting support for this party. Currently, the Labor Party and the Conservative Party have about the same 20% of the vote in the polls. “historically low” support. Meanwhile, British Reform, Nigel Farage’s populist party, trailed them by just 5 points.
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