After the surprisingly entertaining Canadian election, which was a win for modern democracy (even if it meant electing the first tattooed leader of a G-8 country), it's time for more elections - geopolitical geeks rejoice!
Busy weekend ahead, with both Argentina (Presidential and Legislative) and Poland (Parliamentary) going to the polls on October 25. Seeing as woman in politics these days is a major talking point, it's interesting to note that the term has ended for Argentina's first female President, Cristina Kirchner (wife of the former President), and the three main political parties vying to form government in Poland are headed by woman.
Both countries have similar populations, are predominantly catholic and are hovering between developing and first world economically. Socially they differ: Poland is more socially conservative in nature, whereas Argentina is more progressive (for those of you not aware, legalized same-sex marriage in 2010).
Poland would be considered 'Argentina 2.0'; closing the gap on Western Europe and becoming a bigger global player. Meanwhile Argentina is regressing, gone are the glory days of the 1930's when it was in the conversation of leading economies, it now finds itself lagging behind other middle-income nations. Many in Argentina blame the 'kleptomania' syndrome, where a husband and wife duo have used the country as a political football for the past 12 years. Even foreigners cringe when seeing Kirchner representing Argentina abroad. Her recent speech at the UN General Assembly was basically a conspiracy theorists fantasy.
Many issues still face Poland, it is finally coming-of-age, from simply being a place where German companies find cheap labor to a modern industrial nation. Stemming the brain drain of young Poles moving abroad (particularly the UK) is still a main concern. As history has taught us, Poland has not had the best of luck when it comes to neighboring powers. Russia is still a main cause of concern, and is often used as a tool by politicians to invoke fear into the public (as evidenced by the continued rhetoric about the plane crash that claimed the life of the former President, Lech Kaczyński). His twin brother (a former Prime Minister) is now Chairman of the party that is favored to win the election.
For two countries, world's apart on separate continents, they will head to the polls facing similar challenges - fascinating time in geopolitics...
