Significant Digits:April Showers Bring May…Elections?

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175/751 Seats

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The European Union (EU) has just concluded elections for the European Parliament. While the parliament’s traditional centrist and pro-European majority has held, there are worries about the future of the Union as 175 seats have been captured by various Eurosceptic parties, who seek to reduce the power of the Union and fight against existing integration. In an example of this trend, the far-right Brexit party, led by Nigel Farage, won 31% of the United Kingdom (UK) vote with a promise to make this the last EU election the UK would participate in.[Financial Times]

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+21 Seats

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After a month of voting, India’s Lok Sabha (parliamentary) elections are finally over. Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been returned to office with a convincing mandate, as they and their coalition partners gained 21 seats, for a total majority of 350 seats in the 545-seat body. The result surprised many Indian pundits, who expected a victory for the opposition Indian National Congress (INC) party, or at least a reduced majority for Modi’s BJP and their coalition partners after Congress’ strong showing in recent state elections. Instead, the INC only managed 60 seats, largely in South India, while losing several important seats in the north. Modi’s term had been marred by economic hardship for farmers, a squeeze in the labour market, and a disastrous “de-monetization” policy, but he was able to secure reelection by focusing on Hindu religious appeals and increased tension with Pakistan. [BBC]

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2 Independents

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Ex-Liberal Cabinet ministers Jane Philpott and Jody-Wilson Raybould recently announced they would be running as independents in the ridings of Markham-Stouffville and Vancouver-Granville, respectively. After the two were expelled from the Liberal caucus for refusing to toe the party line on the SNC-Lavalin scandal, they were courted by both the NDP and the Greens, with Green leader Elizabeth May even offering them leadership of the party. The two instead made the decision to run as independents, running on a platform of non-partisanship and being responsive to their constituents, instead of their parties. There are doubts as to whether they’ll be able to survive the next election without party backing, but only time will tell. [CBC]

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$60,000

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That’s how much 2 courtside seats for the NBA Finals will cost on reseller StubHub. Official tickets from Ticketmaster sold out almost immediately to the 2000 people in line to do so. The Liberals and the NDP blame the ridiculously high ticket prices on the Progressive Conservatives’ scrapping of the Ticket Sales Act, which limited resellers to 1.5x the initial sales price. Many Raptors fans feel they have been effectively locked out of seeing their team play by the high prices. [CBC]

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12 Days with 8 or more

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The US has been wracked with tornadoes in recent months, reporting a record breaking 12 consecutive days with 8 or more simultaneous twisters. 935 tornadoes have been reported in 2019, far above the average of 743 by this time of year. There have been 38 deaths so far, along with hundreds of injuries and millions of dollars in property damage. Scientists blame the increase in storms on increased atmospheric instability due to climate change, and there are further worries regarding our preparedness for future storms. This year’s storms heralded a shift of the so-called “Tornado Alley” east and south into more densely populated, and less prepared, states like Arkansas and Alabama. [CBC]

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