“What is with so many European countries choosing leftists? It seems that the horrors of past bad decisions have not taught them a lesson. “
I worked for an Israeli company that mostly employed American Jews. Despite wherever they might have come from, they considered themselves as European. Being European was more a state of being rather than some actual reality. They believed in free everything. Free education, free healthcare, free food. I can’t think of anything that at some point one of them hadn’t suggested should be free. When you dove down into how anything worked, they’d admit that whatever they wanted wasn’t feasible. One example was how wonderful the free medical care was in Israel. Then, hardly taking a breath, the man said, “Well, of course, if you want it now you pay a little under the table, but that’s beside the point.” They were all registered Democrats and voted by mail whenever they were in Israel. I asked why they’d do that if they weren’t going to be affected by the policies of the Democrats they were helping to elect to office. They considered Americans to be too stupid to vote in their own interests and if they didn’t vote it might result in “reactionary, right wing Republicans” getting elected. They often wrinkled their noses like they were smelling a skunk when they said this.
To answer your question about why Europeans vote for leftists, it’s because leftism is “right” and it has never been done correctly. The right people “them” were never the ones who had the reigns of power. And, everything would be fine if everyone simply was nice to each other. These people all had multiple degrees. They’d often spent significant time in a university environment. Therefore, they understood how “the world” worked so much better than someone who had actually lived in the world. Seriously. That’s their attitude. These aren’t dumb people. These are people who have lived in a sequestered life which can be had even if their neighbors are wage slaves. They just don’t interact with “those” people.
My father often said (this is a sanitized version) “They must be pretty smart to be that damn dumb”.
Good comment.
Re thought everything should be “free”: Remember, socialism, and its big brother communism, will always be popular with those who think they can get something for nothing.