Four pivotal elections could shake democratic norms in 10 days
politicsOct 25, 202634281
Brazil, Serbia, Israel and the United States hold national elections within 10 days, a cluster The Guardian says could either reinforce a global authoritarian trajectory or permit a limited comeback for democratic norms. Sweden-based V-Dem Institute data cited in the piece show global democratic freedoms have fallen to levels last seen in 1978. Brazil holds a presidential runoff on Oct 25 in which far-right candidate Flávio Bolsonaro leads and has promised to "change the constitution", pardon his father for plotting a coup, and loosen Amazon protections. Serbia votes on Oct 25 in snap parliamentary elections that represent the stiffest challenge in 12 years to Aleksandar Vučić, with a student-led movement running on the slogan "Serbia or Mafia?". Israel votes on Oct 27 with Benjamin Netanyahu, who has led for 19 of the past 30 years, facing an opposition block while he confronts an ICC war crimes warrant and a domestic corruption trial; his far-right coalition is trailing in polls. US midterm elections on Nov 3 could hand Democrats at least one chamber of Congress but would still leave them with a difficult task in checking what the Guardian calls Donald Trump's imperial-style presidency. The article notes concrete cross-border links among these contests, including MAGA political support for Netanyahu, Vučić and Bolsonaro, Israeli Pegasus spyware found on Serbian activists, Brazil and Israel defense and diplomatic ties, and weapons flows from the US to Israel, all of which mean each national outcome is likely to produce regional and international spillovers.
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