Political Developments and Data in 2023

Issues in national politics in 2023In recent years, global events like the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, alongside consumer price inflation, have significantly shaped the political landscape of many countries covered by the Political Data Yearbook.However, 2023 saw a shift toward more country-specific political dynamics.While some common themes persisted, a single dominant issue failed to emerge.After two years of mostly favorable aggregate economic growth, economic performance in 2023 was decidedly modest, with a country-level average growth just short of 1 per cent (The World Bank 2024).Only the United States and Japan outperformed growth rates from the previous year.Ireland is the land of extremes on this indicator: after at least three years with the highest annual growth rate in the group, it finished 2023 with the lowest, coming in at -3.2 per cent.As reflected in the country profile of this volume, which characterizes the economy as "buoyant," international actors note that the net decline arises because of declines in specific sectors that are dominated by multinationals, which are attracted by the relatively low corporate tax rate (among other things).Factoring out this influence, the domestic economy performed much closer to the average of the Yearbook cases.Estonia finished in a close second to last, reflecting a continuing recession that challenged the new all-liberal government led by the Reform Party (Mlder 2024).With nine other country cases experiencing very modest negative growth, and 24 with positive growth that barely exceeded 3 per cent at best, the only other cases that stand apart are Iceland and Malta, with respectable growth rates at 4.1 per cent and 5.6 per cent, respectively.Nevertheless, our country report on Iceland reveals considerable economic stress.High inflation was especially salient and took a toll on the government's popularity (Hardarson 2024).Compared to 2022, inflationary pressures receded in most countries.Nevertheless, the cost-of-living crisis, often intertwined with concerns about housing affordability and declining real wages, dominated national debates in Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Canada, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Iceland,