Argentina TV news says self-described "anarcho-capitalist" Javier Milei might take *11% and third place* in the city of Buenos Aires in today's primary elections, which would be a shock to the country
The libertarian presidential candidate fell flat on his face in 2019's primary elections despite polling somewhat well prior to the vote. So many expected a repeat of that situation, and wondered whether they'd track at all
This would be the first confirmation that libertarians are a real force in Argentinian politics, though the general election will be the real test of their support
With the same result in November Milei would easily become a deputy in Argentina's Congress, and his party earns two deputies with 15%. If the result is confirmed, a lot of Argentines will probably take more stock in their polling
So their numbers will be interesting to look out for in the weeks to come. On the Populism Updates patented Shock-O-Meter™ this rates about a 7 or 8 from the Argentinian perspective. Of course, these are just primaries, so it's hard to say what November will really look like
If you want the most chaotic election-following experience possible, as an example, search "Milei" on Twitter and sort by latest
Most of it is hyped supporters and others just tweeting about the election. But as with many elections, you'll also find a lot of people tweeting results from individual precincts
"Milei: The Surprise of the Night"
This was Milei today. Notice: That is a lot of engagement
If the SPD forms a government after the German election, which polls think is pretty likely right now, you would have social democrat-led coalitions in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Germany
4/5 would be flips within the past 3 years
Europe-at-large: Spain and Portugal. Are there others? Croatia has a center-left president but not the PM
With 82% of the vote counted, Argentina's libertarians are over 13% in the city of Buenos Aires. A political earthquake resultados.gob.ar/elecciones/3/5…
This is for the primary legislative elections today, there's a general election in November. But this is going to completely change the way they're perceived in the media. The spotlight may or may not be good for them
For context, most people thought the polls were way overestimating them here, but they seem to have been *underestimated.* 11% would have been considered shocking. Though not sure whether they'll trend up or down with the remaining 18% of the vote
Commitment to democracy is definitely an important litmus test here. Even a lot of European far-right leaders were squeamish about fraud claims and the Capitol riot
More or less the modern GOP is pretty in line with Viktor Orban or Law and Justice, though on some cultural issues the Europeans are probably further right. Economically the Republicans are, overall, much more right-wing than Europeans, *and* leading the way for their far-right