In France we have a run-off system too, and I think some complaints about American politics I hear would disappear if they adopted that—though others might appear, for example regional parties like there are in Canada.
Unlike what you describe in Brazil, it’s not that rare for candidates that are not part of the two “main” parties to get to the second turn (Le Pen did in 2002), or even to get elected (The centrist Giscard in 1974). The “main” parties are also more likely to split up / reorganize themselves than the US ones.
The Czech Senate (upper chamber of the parliament) uses top-two runoff too and a lizard-lizard competition in the second round happened in 14 out of 27 districts, which is only slightly more than half (lizard defined as a candidate of one of the two strongest parties). Remarkably, there was no lizard-free second round, at least one lizard succeeded everywhere. In the second round, 20 lizards won. It means that out of 13 lizard vs. non-lizard competitions, 6 were won by lizards. It seems to indicate that lizard victories aren’t largely due to “strategic” voting: if it were so, non-lizards would massively outcompete lizards in a direct confrontation.
though others might appear, for example regional parties like there are in Canada
What reason for appearance of regional parties is present in a top-two runoff system and absent in the plurality system?
Actually the current polarization is recent, I think. In 1989 some guy from an obscure party got elected. But brazilian democracy itself is young: we’ve only had 6 direct presidential elections since the demilitarization in 1985, and in the last 5 the second turn, when it happened, was between the Worker’s and Social Democratic parties. So the polarization is recent, but there’s not much data before it.
In France we have a run-off system too, and I think some complaints about American politics I hear would disappear if they adopted that—though others might appear, for example regional parties like there are in Canada.
Unlike what you describe in Brazil, it’s not that rare for candidates that are not part of the two “main” parties to get to the second turn (Le Pen did in 2002), or even to get elected (The centrist Giscard in 1974). The “main” parties are also more likely to split up / reorganize themselves than the US ones.
The Czech Senate (upper chamber of the parliament) uses top-two runoff too and a lizard-lizard competition in the second round happened in 14 out of 27 districts, which is only slightly more than half (lizard defined as a candidate of one of the two strongest parties). Remarkably, there was no lizard-free second round, at least one lizard succeeded everywhere. In the second round, 20 lizards won. It means that out of 13 lizard vs. non-lizard competitions, 6 were won by lizards. It seems to indicate that lizard victories aren’t largely due to “strategic” voting: if it were so, non-lizards would massively outcompete lizards in a direct confrontation.
What reason for appearance of regional parties is present in a top-two runoff system and absent in the plurality system?
Actually the current polarization is recent, I think. In 1989 some guy from an obscure party got elected. But brazilian democracy itself is young: we’ve only had 6 direct presidential elections since the demilitarization in 1985, and in the last 5 the second turn, when it happened, was between the Worker’s and Social Democratic parties. So the polarization is recent, but there’s not much data before it.