The Democrats in the US, the Tories in Britain. Macron in France, Modi in India and Japan’s Shigeru Ishiba.
All have either found themselves turfed out of office or given a bloody nose by voters in what has been described as the worst ever year for incumbents facing re-election.
Governments in just about every major developed country in the world have felt the wrath of the electorate as economic uncertainties help fuel the rise of populist or right-wing parties.
That is except in Ireland, where Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael look set to continue with their marriage of convenience after a general election where, on the surface at least, little changed.
The Republic is certainly not immune to the fragmentation of politics witnessed elsewhere. The ‘big two’, who have taken turns in government since the foundation of the state, recorded their lowest ever combined share of the vote.
The end of their duopoly in 2020, when Sinn Féin recorded the highest first preference vote, was confirmed when all three parties again finished within a few percentage points of each other.
However, for both Fianna Fáil - blamed for the state’s post-2008 economic meltdown – and Fine Gael – likely to have been in power for 19 years when voters next go to the polls - the results defy all international trends.
For Sinn Féin, having failed to fully capitalise on the mood for change four years ago, this has been another missed opportunity, not helped by a series of self-inflicted wounds over the last year.
For a party that had been on a constant upward trajectory, at one point polling in the thirties, a drop of more than five percentage points will prompt some soul-searching and questions about leadership.
Elsewhere, while Green TDs were predictably punished as the coalition mudguard, it was encouraging to see the motley bunch of far-right candidates fail to make a breakthrough, with the Dáil also spared the indignity of the election of Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch, albeit narrowly.
The electorate’s verdict of ‘as you were’ is likely in large part to be down to a booming economy and confidence in Ireland’s place in an uncertain world.
While housing and immigration remain major issues, there appears to be some satisfaction that the state remains on the right path.
What a contrast with Northern Ireland, where public services are crumbling, poverty levels are rising and there is little faith that Stormont can make the hard decisions required.
Voters can only look enviously across the border at an election campaign dominated by policy debate and hope that the next government, whatever its colour, will continue to adopt an all-island approach to investment in people and infrastructure.
