#Exit Polls 2019

[sophieebridgerton]

just saw a bunch of primary school children chanting at people to get out and vote and it honestly made me sob because what kind of future are we giving them?

[itwoodbeprefect]

voting closed a little bit ago (in the netherlands. most other eu countries vote over the next three days) and the first exit polls leave me with extremely mixed feelings. still worth navigating a maze for though

i did my duty as a european citizen (went on a scavenger hunt to find the voting place which they moved from a nearly impossible to miss spot at the outer edge of a huge outdoor sport complex to a little building all the way at the back end of the complex which, near as i could tell while cycling winding deserted little roads that direction, is not accessible without navigating through a barely-signaged maze)!

[op-81-lvr]

BABY SAID ~ OP81

Part2

Oscar Piastri x Male!Driver!Single-Parent!Reader

SMAU

Please note: based on my poll i'm going to publish both oscar fics because they seem to be swapping placed by the hour so bear with me. Also to anone who wanted the Max fic, dw about it i'm publishing that one to just at a much later date.

A/N: Part 2 of this will be made, lemme know if you have any suggestions for scenarios. My inbox is open.

Faceclaim: Various men on pinetest, couldn't decide on a face claim I wanted for this fic

Summary: In your 2 years as Oscars teamate you two became fast friends. When you suddenly become the sole care taker to your daughter Oscar is there for you through everything.

Warnings/Tags: Set in the end 2024 season/start of 2025 season, totally based on what is currently known about draver contacts and such. Reader drove in mclaren 2019-2024 and takes lewis' merc seat for 2025. Daughter is a result of a one night stand/ex-girlfriend, he is raising her on his own. Pre-established relationship (Kind of)

October 2024

Formula 1

❤️ 💬 📟 🔖

Liked by Your_Username, McLaren, Oscar Piastri and 589k others

f1 Following a sudden personal issue, McLaren driver (Y/N) (L/N) has withdrawn from racing for the rest of the season. Lando Norris is due to take his place in (L/N)’s seat early.

(Y/N) will be back with us to drive for Mercedes in the 2025 season.

User1 This is so sad, he is 7 points off of overtaking Max in the championship standings ☹️

User2 I hope he’s okay, it must be pretty serious for him to pull out when he is this close to a championship win.

Your_Username I’ll see you lovely lot next year. Best of luck Lando 🫶🏻

User3 This is such a PR response 💔

McLaren

❤️ 💬 📟 🔖

Liked by Your_Username, OscarPiastri and 402k others

McLaren Goodbye (Y/N), we’re going to miss you around the garage for the last few races of the season but we know next you you’ll be off doing other things with a new team.

See ya around, Champ

Sincerely, admin and the McLaren team

User4 Admin calling him ‘Champ’ ☹️

OscarPiastri I can’t believe I have to break in a new teammate now. I’m gonna miss my bro 😔

Your_Username Gonna miss you to, How am I gonna cope without our race weekend gossip session

User5 Never beating the romance allegations I fear

Your_Username Who said I wanted to beat them 😏

User6 I beg your finest pardon 😳

January 2025

Your_Username

❤️ 💬 📟 🔖

Liked by OscarPiastri, mercedesamgf1 and 281k others

Your_Username Welp, secrets out (Thanks Mail Online) Whats one more secret between friends?

This is Marceline, my daughter (And yes, she is named after the adventure time character), She was born last October and that is why I exited the season early.

Would like to thank Oscar for being my shoulder to cry on, my person to lean on when I was left with a newborn baby in mid-October and the person to spend my now sleepless nights with

And yes, I will still be driving for Mercedes next year, my daughter was not a deal breaker for them.

Love you all, see you in February 🫶🏻

User9 BABY (L/N)??? OSCAR AND (Y/N) WERE DATING THIS WHOLE TIME??? (Y/N) WENT MISSING TO TAKE CARE OF HIS BABY!

OscarPiastri I love you, baby. Although i’m gonna miss being teammates I am honoured that you want me in Marcy’s life.

Your_Username Love you too Honey, and I wouldn’t question having you in Marcy’s life even if we weren’t dating.

User10 WDYM (Y/N) CALLS OSCAR HONEY, THATS SO CUTE 🙁

mercedesamgf1 Already babyproofing the unit for baby boss’ first day 🫡

Your_Username Much appreciated admin

User11 Arguably think this is better than him winning the championship

schecoperez Good to see another father on the grid, we’re here if you need us!

Your_Username Thanks Checo

User11 Love how Merc and RedBull are made to look like they hate each other but then we get moments like this

[questions-about-blorbos]

*The Backrooms is a fictional location originating from a 2019 4chan thread. One of the best known examples of the liminal space aesthetic, the Backrooms are usually portrayed as an impossibly large extradimensional expanse of empty rooms, accessed by exiting ("no-clipping out of") reality. Internet users have expanded on the concept of the Backrooms, introducing concepts such as "levels" and hostile creatures that inhabit the space.

This request was sent to us and we made a poll in response to it. Send any Blorbo-related question you want to our inbox and we’ll make a poll on which people can vote with their own Blorbos in minds

[faracus]

Many conflicting feeling this morning now uk election results are in

1. Hooray, the Tories are out at long last!!!

2. Erm ok, so what are Labour actually going to do now? The main reason people gave for voting Labour was to get the Tories out and thats not a policy, Labour will lose seats at the next election if they don't make significant changes to how the country is doing. This isn't going to happen with the policies in Labours manifesto.

3. Woo, Reform got far fewer seats than exit polls suggested and the Green got more than exit polls suggested.

4. Fuck, Reform got a huge percentage of votes, thats going to drag all the major parties even further to the right.

5. On the other hand it means those all across the political spectrum not just those on the left might start calling for proportional representation rather than first past the post, this will help all parties except Labour and the Tories, so yay for actually left wing parties having a better chance.

6. Yay Corbyn kept his seat as an independent against Labour despite the media coverage saying this was unlikely to happen.

7. Fuck the seat I live in is still a Tory seat despite it being much closer than any time in the last 100 years, on the other hand it was only so close because of Reform.

8. Damn, i was hoping (but not expecting) Lib Dems would be in opposition to Labour rather than the Tories. That might have helped drag the country back to the left but realistically that was never going to happen.

9. Looking at the vote share Labour really didn't win this election, they only got 1.6% more of the vote than in 2019. The result is only because of the Tories imploding.

[eaglesnick]

The Emperors New Clothes

Time and time again, as I watched the election results unfold on my TV screen last night, political commentators and Labour MP’s alike praised Sir Keir Starmer for having thrown Jeremy Corbyn out of the Party and for having purged its ranks of left-wing candidates. The massive Labour victory that the exit polls predicted and was played out over the ensuing hours was all down to Sir Keir’s eradication of left-wing policies and candidates.

In the 2019 election Corbyn’s Labour Party secured only 32.2% of the vote, the worst in Labour’s history. That year saw a turn out of 67% with Labour winning 202 seats. Yesterday saw Labour with 33.9% of the vote yet winning 410 seats, in a turnout predicted to be around 60%.

Despite being labelled a “landslide victory", which measured in MP numbers it is, Starmer has failed to significantly raise the Labour Party’s overall share of the vote from its all time low of the 2019 election. In short, the voters have deserted the Conservative Party but have not given their vote to Starmer. Rather they have voted for lesser parties such as the Liberal Democrats, the Greens and worryingly, Reform UK.

Starmer, more concerned about power than policies, has failed to ignite the support of the electorate. His 1.7% increase in the popular vote is derisible, especially given his scathing criticism of Jeremy Corbyn’s left-wing policies in the 2019 election. The sad fact is, the voters were totally unimpressed by Sir Keir Starmer’s “new" Labour Party. The 2024 election turnout is on track to being the lowest since the Second World War.

The electorate may have rejected the Conservatives, but they have not flocked to the Labour Party. Keir Starmer’s “massive victory" is hollow. Like the Emperor in the Hans  Christian Andersen fairy tale, Keir Starmer’s obsession with image has been at the expense of policies that matter to ordinary working people and it is only a matter of time before his nakedness is found out.

[mariacallous]

BRUSSELS (AP) — Far-right parties made major gains in European Union parliamentary elections Sunday, dealing stunning defeats to two of the bloc’s most important leaders: French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

In France, the National Rally party of Marine Le Pen dominated the polls to such an extent that Macron immediately dissolved the national parliament and called for new elections. It was a massive political risk since his party could suffer more losses, hobbling the rest of his presidential term that ends in 2027.

Le Pen was delighted to accept the challenge. “We’re ready to turn the country around, ready to defend the interests of the French, ready to put an end to mass immigration,” she said, echoing the rallying cry of so many far-right leaders in other countries who were celebrating substantial wins.

Macron acknowledged the thud of defeat. “I’ve heard your message, your concerns, and I won’t leave them unanswered,” he said, adding that calling a snap election only underscored his democratic credentials.

In Germany, the most populous nation in the 27-member bloc, projections indicated that the AfD overcame a string of scandals involving its top candidate to rise to 16.5%, up from 11% in 2019. In comparison, the combined result for the three parties in the German governing coalition barely topped 30%.

Scholz suffered such an ignominious fate that his long-established Social Democratic party fell behind the extreme-right Alternative for Germany, which surged into second place. “After all the prophecies of doom, after the barrage of the last few weeks, we are the second strongest force,” a jubilant AfD leader Alice Weidel said.

The four-day polls in the 27 EU countries were the world’s second-biggest exercise in democracy, behind India’s recent election. At the end, the rise of the far right was even more stunning than many analysts predicted.

The French National Rally crystalized it as it stood at over 30% or about twice as much as Macron’s pro-European centrist Renew party that is projected to reach around 15%.

Overall across the EU, two mainstream and pro-European groups, the Christian Democrats and the Socialists, remained the dominant forces. The gains of the far right came at the expense of the Greens, who were expected to lose about 20 seats and fall back to sixth position in the legislature. Macron’s pro-business Renew group also lost big.

For decades, the European Union, which has its roots in the defeat of Nazi Germany and fascist Italy, confined the hard right to the political fringes. With its strong showing in these elections, the far right could now become a major player in policies ranging from migration to security and climate.

Bucking the trend was former EU leader and current Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who overcame Law and Justice, the national conservative party that governed Poland from 2015-23 and drove it ever further to the right. A poll showed Tusk’s party won with 38%, compared to 34% for his bitter nemesis.

“Of these large, ambitious countries, of the EU leaders, Poland has shown that democracy, honesty and Europe triumph here,” Tusk told his supporters. “I am so moved.”

He declared, “We showed that we are a light of hope for Europe.”

Germany, traditionally a stronghold for environmentalists, exemplified the humbling of the Greens, who were predicted to fall from 20% to 12%. With further losses expected in France and elsewhere, the defeat of the Greens could well have an impact on the EU’s overall climate change policies, still the most progressive across the globe.

The center-right Christian Democratic bloc of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, which already weakened its green credentials ahead of the polls, dominated in Germany with almost 30%, easily beating Scholz’s Social Democrats, who fell to 14%, even behind the AfD.

“What you have already set as a trend is all the better – strongest force, stable, in difficult times and by a distance,” von der Leyen told her German supporters by video link from Brussels.

As well as France, the hard right, which focused its campaign on migration and crime, was expected to make significant gains in Italy, where Premier Giorgia Meloni was tipped to consolidate her power.

Voting continued in Italy until late in the evening and many of the 27 member states have not yet released any projections. Nonetheless, data already published confirmed earlier predictions: the elections will shift the bloc to the right and redirect its future. That could make it harder for the EU to pass legislation, and decision-making could at times be paralyzed in the world’s biggest trading bloc.

EU lawmakers, who serve a five-year term in the 720-seat Parliament, have a say in issues from financial rules to climate and agriculture policy. They approve the EU budget, which bankrolls priorities including infrastructure projects, farm subsidies and aid delivered to Ukraine. And they hold a veto over appointments to the powerful EU commission.

These elections come at a testing time for voter confidence in a bloc of some 450 million people. Over the last five years, the EU has been shaken by the coronavirus pandemic, an economic slump and an energy crisis fueled by the biggest land conflict in Europe since the Second World War. But political campaigning often focuses on issues of concern in individual countries rather than on broader European interests.

Since the last EU election in 2019, populist or far-right parties now lead governments in three nations — Hungary, Slovakia and Italy — and are part of ruling coalitions in others including Sweden, Finland and, soon, the Netherlands. Polls give the populists an advantage in France, Belgium, Austria and Italy.

“Right is good,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who leads a stridently nationalist and anti-migrant government, told reporters after casting his ballot. “To go right is always good. Go right!”

[starboyshoyo]

Typical Kalim

Pairing: Kalim Al-Asim x fem!reader

Fandom: Twisted Wonderland

Genre: fluff, humor

Word Count: 1.6k

The Scarabia dormwarden just has to use the most flamboyant method possible to get his crush’s attention. Typical Kalim. 

Loosely inspired by the song “Prince Ali” from Aladdin (2019)

“I just don’t know how to tell her!” Kalim had sighed. The silver-haired boy lay upside-down in a luxuriously plush sofa in his room, arms stretched out under his head. “She’s just so cool, you know? I want to be cool to her too, but not just as her friend. I want to be cool to her in a different way.” 

Jamil, leaning against a column in the corner, shadows surrounding his face, also sighed for the nth time that day. Sighing was a sound heard often in the Scarabia housewarden’s quarters quite often now. Whether it be exasperated ones from Jamil or ones of longing from Kalim himself, they had all started the day he had met you, Ramshackle Dorm’s prefect, for the first time. “I’ve told you time and time again, Kalim. Why don’t you just ask her to go shopping with you the next time you want to go to the Bazaar? Or maybe offer to study with her in the library for a few hours. You can spring the question on her then.” 

“That’s so ordinary though,” Kalim pointed out. He waved his hands in a dramatic arc, towards nothing in particular. “I want her to feel special! Like a guest of honor at a party- oh, I have an idea!” Hopping off the sofa, he leaned in to Jamil, whispering urgently in his ear. 

Jamil crossed his arms, scowling. Leave it to Kalim to be oh-so flamboyant and foolish about the ways he wanted to ask his crush out. The taller boy had no interest in inserting himself into Night Raven College’s vicious circle of gossip, but how could he refuse the Al-Asim boy?

“Fine,” Jamil bowed his head. “Just… put together a list or something, for your party that night. In the meantime… I’ll get to work this evening. ” 

Typical Kalim, he groans to himself as he exits the room, closing the door softly behind him. 

+++

Prince Kalim! Mighty is he, Kalim Al-Asim,   Strong as ten regular men, definitely!  He faced the galloping hordes, a hundred bad guys with swords  Who sent those goons to their lords? Why, Prince Kalim!

+++

You’re passing through the locker room, sweat rolling down your forehead from today’s Mr. Vargas’ latest exercise regimen, when you see two Heartslabyul first-years turn to stare blatantly at you as you walk in. They’re not even trying to hide their wide eyes, or the glances exchanged between them. One of them nudges the other, and they fumble for a moment, before loudly whispering- 

“Hey, did you hear about Kalim’s latest PE assessment? I heard he ranked higher than everyone in his class- even the Savannaclaw housewarden Kingscholar!” 

It wasn’t unusual to hear your dear friend’s first name being tossed around among students, even those not close friends with the boy. However wealthy and extravagant he was, he was simply Kalim to them, a fun-loving drop of the desert sun come to life. But what was unusual was for such an outlandish and strange rumor to be floating around in the gossip chain. Kalim, scoring first in a PE assessment? It was about as likely as Vil getting voted ‘Ugliest Face’ in the yearbook polls. (Ugliest personality though, was another matter entirely…)

Plus, you know that if Kalim had really achieved such a feat he would have run straight to you, blurting the news in your face. Kalim always had something new to tell you, every time he saw you- and he wasn’t the type to keep secrets.

Ignoring the two whispering freshmen, you make your way to your locker. Spinning in the combination, you open the door- and a familiar, gilded-edged letter flutters out of the hinges, onto the floor. It’s deep scarlet in color, with a cobra crest adorning the seal. You don’t have to read the signature to know who it’s from. A party on such short notice, tonight? You might as well go, just to see your dear friend. 

Typical Kalim, you smile to yourself. 

+++

Prince Kalim! Handsome is he, Kalim Al-Asim! That physique! How can I speak, weak at the knee! Well, get on out in that square, adjust your veil and prepare  To gawk and grovel and stare at Prince Kalim!

+++

Music blares and flashing lights strobe around you, neon colors swimming in the water of the grand pool in the backyard of Scarabia dorm. You recline on a lounge chair in the shadows, swirling a (non-alcoholic!) beverage in the tumbler in your hand. You glance down at it, reflections of dancing partygoers rippling in the liquid. They distort your own face, and you can barely make out the outline of your own dark eyes in the glass. Normally, you would be with them- swaying to the beat, twirling with Kalim’s hand in yours. Today, you were still a bit too tired from your PE exam- the one Kalim supposedly aced- so you were sitting this one out. You didn’t mind, though. It gave you time to observe the crowd around you, picking out subtle looks between couples that were probably going to be hooking up later that night. 

There’s a commotion from the other side of the pool, people crowding around to get a look at something. Shouts and toasts to the young night ring out, and you hear a familiar laugh, just as Kalim strides out of a poolside building. He’s clad in only shorts and his signature headband and jewelry, and Jamil is following behind like usual- though had the grace to look embarrassed. 

Kalim is flocked by two or three girls, you notice sourly. He didn’t even come out to greet you, and for them? You decide to sit back and watch some more. The girls are seemingly fawning over his… muscles? You admit Kalim is well-built, but he was nowhere near as muscular as say, Jack or Sebek. He’s basking in their praise though, smiling bright as ever. Maybe he was just being friendly, you reason to yourself, looking down at your hands in your lap. Yes, maybe that was it. 

When you look back up, Kalim is scanning the poolside, eyes squinted against the bright flashes and roaring crowd. Though you are half-hidden in shadow, he catches your eye- you know he does, because he gives you a huge grin and steps to the edge of the pool. 

You watch as he reaches his arms upwards, arching his back in a clearly-exaggerated stretch that highlights the lean muscle in his body. Then he dives into the pool without even taking off his gold bands. They sparkle in the lights of the party, far beneath the watery blue surface. You watch those gold bands glimmer, gliding along the pool floor until they’re right in front of you. 

Always showing something off, you note fondly. Typical Kalim. 

+++

Prince Kalim! Amorous he, Kalim Al-Asim Heard your princess was a sight lovely to see  And that, good people, is why he got dolled up and dropped by Make way for Prince Kalim!

+++

He pulls himself out of the pool, water dripping off of his tanned skin. Pushing the silver mop of hair out of his eyes, he shakes droplets off like a dog and smiles. “Hey, prefect! I looked pretty cool there, didn’t I? What’dya think?” 

You raise an eyebrow at him. “You look handsome as usual, Kalim. Mind telling me what this is all about?” You look around for the girls, but they haven’t followed him here- in fact, they were deeply engrossed in conversation with Jamil instead, giggling and running their hands up his muscled arm. “How did you even get girls here at Scarabia dorm without Riddle offing your head? I’m pretty sure I’m the only non-boy at Night Raven College.”

He winks at you. “Dorm leader benefits!” he chirps. “They’re actually friends of mine,” he explains. “They wanted to see what this place was all about!” He gestures to all of the extravagance around you. 

“Alright…” you muse. You guess that made sense. But… “What about those rumors that were going around?” you prod at him. “Don’t tell me you haven’t heard of them,” you add hastily. Kalim had an ear to the ground in every room at NRC. “Acing a PE exam? And at the top of your class, too?”

Kalim pouts. “They’re just things that may or may not be the truth,” he declares dramatically. “Why? Am I not muscular enough for you, Prefect?” 

When you arch an eyebrow at him, Kalim finally cracks. He can’t lie to you, after all. “Okay, okay, fine. Those are just rumors.”

Jamil is shaking the girls off and making his way over to you now, a wry smile on his face. “I told you your cover would be blown sooner or later,” Jamil comments. 

Kalim laughs. “I guess you were right.” he says sheepishly. He grabs your hand in his. “I just wanted you to think of me a bit differently, you know? I wanted to look cool before I asked you to dance with me at my party today.”

“I’ve always thought of you as cool, Kalim,” you point out. “And yes, in a different way, as you so delicately put it,” you add, when he opens his mouth, about to rephrase himself. “And I would have danced with you anyways, whether or not I thought you had muscles,” you finish with a tease. 

“Really?” Kalim’s eyes widen, and his face splits into an even bigger grin, if that’s even possible. “Woah, Jamil, do you hear this? Prefect’s liked me all along!” He pulls you in for a nuzzle, then a hug. He’s giggling softly against your shoulder, and you can’t help but hold him closer. Over his shoulder, you meet Jamil’s gaze, and he rolls his eyes. You know what he’s thinking. 

Typical Kalim.

Comments and reblogs are greatly appreciated!

[broadwaydivastournament]

Broadway Divas Tournament: Round 1D

Beloved character actress Andrea Martin (1947) is a two-time Tony winner for My Favorite Year (1993) and Pippin (2013), both for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, a nomination she has received five times, more than any other actress. Other stage work includes Exit the King (2009), Noises Off (2016), and A Christmas Carol (2019). You may know her from SCTV if you're old enough, where her impersonations and portrayals will make you cry laughing.

It is a hate crime against me personally that there isn't a single high quality photo of Linda Eder (1961) with her silver fox hair. She is best known for originating the role of Lucy Harris in Jekyll & Hyde (1997), and her career has mainly consisted of concert tours, cabaret acts, and an impressive discography. She teaches masterclasses and vocal lessons. She has an upcoming return engagement at 54 Below, and if someone could send me like $200 to go, that would be great.

PROPAGANDA AND MEDIA UNDER CUT: ALL POLLS HERE

"You need to watch the clip above. Nothing in this world will prepare you for the absolute joy of a sixty-something woman doing acrobatic stunts on a Broadway stage in a corset. Andrea Martin stole the whole damn show in the span of ten minutes. Stopped it cold night after night. She's a scream, and I adore her."

"I got to see her at 54 Below a few years back, and when she walked on that stage with her fully silver hair, my lesbian jaw hit the floor. I was besotted. She has such a natural swagger to her. Very attractive."

[zanderbobs]

Healing my inner child tonight (the 15 year old that witnessed the absolute horror that was the 2019 exit polls)

[beardedmrbean]

You can't make this shit up. Macron's party lost the european elections by an absolute landslide, and the first thing he does, I kid you not, is dissolve the fucking national assembly. Do you want to take a guess who the last guy to do this was ??

Le Pen won? If someone had told me this would happen 8-10 years ago I would have called them a liar, then again AfD is picking up steam in Germany and according to reports every single party in Belgium has shifted to the right some, some less than others.

As for my wild guess

Philippe Pétain? or maybe that was just him dissolving it so he could surrender.

Let's look at the write up

PARIS (Reuters) -French President Emmanuel Macron suffered a heavy defeat in European Parliament elections on Sunday, with Marine Le Pen's far-right party sealing a definitive win that underlines her credentials as frontrunner for France's 2027 presidential vote.

Le Pen's National Rally (RN) party, led by telegenic 28-year-old Jordan Bardella, won around 32% of the vote, more than double the Macron ticket's 15%, according to the first exit polls. The Socialists came within a whisker of Macron, with 14%.

Le Pen's strong showing, notching a 10-point increase on the last EU election in 2019, will weaken Macron's hold on power three years before the end of his final term. It could also prompt high-level defections from his centrist camp as the succession battle to replace him heats up.

In a victory speech to a rapturous audience at party headquarters, Bardella urged Macron to call for a new legislative election, although the president is under no obligation to follow suit. "Emmanuel Macron is this evening a weakened president," he said. "The president cannot remain deaf to the message sent by the French tonight."

Le Pen and Bardella sought to frame the EU election as a mid-term referendum on Macron's mandate, tapping into discontent with immigration, crime and a two-year inflation crisis.

With widespread expectations of a bruising loss, government officials sought to downplay the importance of the European poll, pledging to maintain policy focus and arguing that EU elections are a poor predictor of presidential voting. ___________________

Ya he got spanked,

I wish there was a solid definition for president across the EU some countries they have almost no responsibilities and in others we get folks like Macron with actual authority

Other countries have a monarch instead of a president too.

Whole thing is less embarrassing for him if they called for him to do it, France and the UK both doing snap elections, wonder how Germany is doing.

[zalimaaa]

the 2019 general election exit polls literally traumatised me

[head-post]

EP elections 2024: triumph of right-wing opposition, collapse of Greens, demand for change of course

Right-wing parties have made significant gains in the European Parliament elections. According to the first results provided by the EU, far-right parties will dominate the transnational parliament, while the Greens were the hardest hit.

French President Emmanuel Macron suffered a crushing defeat in exit polls, while Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party won a convincing victory that underlines her credibility as a candidate for the French presidency in 2027.

According to the first exit polls, the National Rally party won about 32 per cent of the vote, 10 points more than in the last EU elections in 2019, and about 17 points ahead of President Emmanuel Macron’s party.

In Germany, the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party came second behind the opposition Conservatives with 16.5 per cent of the vote, up from 11 per cent in 2019, according to exit polls released by public broadcaster ARD. The Greens lost the most in Germany on Sunday, dropping 8.6 percentage points to 11.9 per cent. Voters penalised them for the cost of policies to cut CO2 emissions – in line with expectations for environmental parties across Europe.

In the Netherlands, where voting took place on Thursday, polls showed that nationalist Geert Wilders’ anti-immigration party would win seven of the 29 seats in the EU assembly, just one less than the alliance of the Social Democrats and Greens.

Meanwhile in Austria, the right-wing Freedom Party is the likely winner of the vote, according to a poll conducted over the past week and released after polls closed on Sunday night.

After the polls closed in Greece, the first exit polls show the ruling New Democracy party in first place with between 28 and 32 per cent. The Greek Solution party is gaining between 7.6 and 10 per cent, while the ultra-conservative Niki is on top with between 2.9 and 4.9 per cent.

Spanish exit polls show Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) vying for the top spot with the conservative Popular Party (PP).

According to a poll by Danish national TV channel DR, SF, the Socialist People’s Party, which in English is called the Green Left, will get the most votes – 18.4 per cent – and three of the 15 Danish seats in the European Parliament.

Pro-European coalition is still in place

On the other hand, the new balance in the EU parliament shows that a stable pro-European coalition is a realistic scenario, despite the rise of the far-right across Europe.

The centre-right EPP, the EU Socialists and the liberal Renewal could form a majority of 403 seats.

The election result raises the possibility that the EPP candidate Ursula von der Leyen will be re-elected as head of the EU Commission. Christopher Glück, managing director at the political analysis firm Forefront Advisers, told Euractiv:

“The majority of the centrist three looks pretty solid […] probably ahead of 410 seats.”

This year’s European Parliament elections are the first since Britain left the EU. In total, more than 360 million Europeans could vote in the election of 720 MEPs. This year’s vote was closely watched around the world. It is predicted that a strong electoral performance by the far-right could reshape alliances in parliament and dramatically change the future of the entire European Union.

Read more HERE

[tomorrowusa]

Two headlines which help explain the victory of Poland's pro-democracy opposition in Sunday's election...

Opozycja zmobilizowała niegłosujących. Na PiS głosował żelazny elektorat (The opposition mobilized non-voters. An iron electorate voted for PiS)

Stats are preliminary, but voter turnout was around 73% in Sunday's parliamentary election – a post-Communist high. The opposition got out the vote – big time. As many as 31% of the eligible voters who did not vote in the 2019 election voted in this one. Meanwhile, the ruling party whose acronym is PiS tightly held on to its own voters; it wasn't enough for them. 87% of PiS voters had voted in 2019.

Wśród młodych najwięcej stracił PiS (PiS lost most among young people)

Of the five party groupings which won seats in the Sejm, PiS came in fifth among voters under 30. Donald Tusk's Koalicja Obywatelska (KO) came in first and Lewnica came in second. The rigid socially conservative agenda of PiS was regarded as repulsive by many young people in Poland.

But wait, there's more!

One aspect of the youth vote which the second TVN24 article did not emphasize is that women were particularly important in the turnout. This is from a DW article about the defeat of PiS.

High turnout thanks to young and female voters

Observers say young and female voters, motivated by the issue of abortion rights — which the ruling PiS has sought to curtail and Donald Tusk has promised to liberalize — turned out in large numbers to support opposition parties. "Until recently, half of women said they would not vote," sociologist Justyna Kajta of SWPS University in Warsaw told AFP news agency. "Now these exit polls actually show more women than men voted."

From "half of women said they would not vote" to "more women than men voted" shows how decisive increased involvement by women, especially younger women, can be.

During the 2020 demonstrations against the extremist anti-abortion law authored by PiS I saw a sign which this election reminded me of. It displayed a fundamental truth as well as a great bilingual political pun based on a classic song by Bob Marley.

The word kraj is pronounced like the English word cry. In Polish, kraj means country though in certain contexts it tends to refer to Poland in particular. For language nerds, you may recognize it as coming from the same Slavic root as Ukraine (Ukraina as written in Polish).

For a well-functioning country, you need active participation by women in the political process. That happened this week in Poland. ❤️🇵🇱

So massive GOTV and appealing to forward-looking young people had a considerable impact in Poland. Those are lessons which should not be overlooked by center-left parties and coalitions in other countries.

BTW, a second exit poll was released for Sunday's election. It showed the current opposition with 249 seats in the Sejm; that's one more than the earlier poll. But the official results should be available by the middle of the week.

[disneyparksattractionstournament]

Extinct Disney Parks and Attractions tournament round 3: Bracket CD

Reminder, you don't have had to experience any of the attractions/experiences to vote! Just read in the info and/or watch the vid,then vote for which you wish you would have experienced more/which sounds cooler!

Videos and propaganda/info dumping under cut

IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth: Epcot (1999-2019)

Propaganda:

Oh boy, here we gooooo. I could go on for hours about this show. It was one of the most unique nighttime shows Disney had, it was so unique to Epcot and didn't have any songs from disney films, which is what the park was suppose to be! Its all original and is so uniting and powerful. The soundtrack is absolutely gorgeous and fully original and gives me goosebumps everytime. Nothing can compare to how powerful it is. And yes, the middle section was a bit slow, especially if you couldnt see the globe well, but I think they should have just updated that part and kept the rest instead of forcing IP into Epcot like the replacement shows. This show was all about nations uniting and every culture being beautiful. From the torches that 'blow out', to all the fire in the middle, to the iconic globe opening with one united torch, to the different countries lighting up, to the jaw dropping finale of huge canon like fireworks coming out of each country area to finish with the brightest finale you will ever see, to the iconic song afterwards (from the Millennium Celebration Tapestry of Nations Parade!). And then Spaceship earth all lite up in purple with the song from Tapestry of Nations parade playing as you exit the park, nothing will beat the magic of that, and I cry every time I remember I will never experience that again. I kid you not, half the reason I did the DCP when I did, was so that I could see the last showing of this! Ill have to find video of me afterwards later xD This was my absolute fav show as a kid and remains so to this day. IN THIS ESSAY I WILL

Push the Talking Trash Can: Magic Kingdom, DCA, Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris (1995-2007/2014(tho he will a very rare appearance every now and again, but its not regular at all like it use to be/SO rare/for special occasions)

Propaganda:

I literally can't explain it, you had to experience it to see why it was so cool xD Just look at my face hugging it in the poll pic xD It was just one of those little unique disney things that made it so special. Ill find and post my vid later!

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Deborah Cole and Ashifa Kassam at The Guardian:

Austria’s main parties are preparing to begin tense wrangling to form a government amid warnings about the country’s democracy after the far right’s watershed victory in a general election in which angry voters punished centrist incumbents over migration and inflation. On Sunday, the anti-Islam, Kremlin-friendly Freedom party (FPÖ) scored its strongest result since its founding after the second world war by former Nazi functionaries and SS officers with just over 29% of the vote. The outcome surpassed expectations and beat the ruling centre-right People’s party (ÖVP) by nearly three percentage points. The centre-left opposition Social Democratic party (SPÖ) turned in its worst-ever performance with 21% while the Greens, junior partners in government, sank to 8%. Exit polls showed that the 13-point gain for the FPÖ since the last parliamentary election in 2019 came thanks to strong support among younger voters. Amid deep frustration with the cost of living and angst about immigration, the hard right clearly won among Austrians under 34 with 27% of that demographic, and even more decisively with the 35-to-59 set on 37%. The FPÖ profited as well from festering resentment over Austria’s strict measures during the Covid pandemic.

The FPÖ, which cites Hungary’s Viktor Orbán as a model, placed only third with over-60s on 22%. Instead, they gave their support to the ÖVP of the chancellor, Karl Nehammer, with 38%, and the SPÖ on 24%. Austria has often faced criticism about its tepid culture of historical remembrance of the Nazi period, long casting itself as the Nazis’ “first victim” despite its enthusiastic welcome of the Anschluss in 1938 by native son Adolf Hitler. In the wake of Sunday’s results, the International Auschwitz Committee, representing survivors of the Nazi extermination camp from 19 countries, denounced an “alarming new chapter” in Austria. Its vice-president, Christoph Heubner, said they were placing their faith in the “common ground among Austria’s democrats” to “stand up to historical amnesia and the ideology of old and new rightwing extremists … in the interest of the country and Europe”.

[...] Despite its resounding win, the FPÖ, which calls for a “Fortress Austria” against migration and “remigration” or forced deportations of unwanted foreigners, will face an uphill battle to form a government as it failed to secure an absolute majority. All of the smaller parties have ruled out any cooperation with the hard right. The ÖVP, which has worked with the rightwing populists several times at national and regional level, would be a potential partner but has called a government led by polarising FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl a dealbreaker.

In Austria’s election this weekend, the far-right FPO won the most seats but not an absolute majority.