Left or Right Wing? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Left

Palme was a social-democratic politician at heart. In Sweden the Social Democratic Party (SAP) finds its political position on the centre-left. Palme served two terms as the prime minister of Sweden. The first stint ran from October 1969 to the same month in 1976, while the second term was tragically cut short due to his aforementioned assassination, running from October 1982 to February 1986.

Answer: True

Niinistö assumed office on the first day of March 2012, becoming the 12th president of Finland. He succeeded female president Tarja Halonen (perhaps best known to the world for her uncanny resemblance to comedian Conan O'Brien, as noted several times on his show). President Niinistö was born in Salo.

Answer: Right

The Social Democratic Party (PSD) was founded in May 1974, post-Carnation Revolution by Francisco Sá Carneiro. Pedro Passos Coelho assumed office in June 2011 and faced the toughest political period seen in the country since the revolution. He was born in July 1964 in the centre-north city of Coimbra.

Answer: False

Actually, during this period there have been more right-wing presidents in Germany by a long way. Only two were left-wing, or one if you will since Jens Böhrnsen served only as an acting president in 2010. The late Johannes Rau, member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) was the last left-wing president to serve a full term - from July 1999 to June 2004, only two years short of his death.

Answer: Right

The Spanish People's Party (PP) was founded in January 1989 by Manuel Fraga Iribarne. Unlike the traditional idea of a "People's Party", it is mainly referred to as a conservative party. It had two serving prime ministers between 1976 and 2013: José María Aznar (May 1996 to April 2004) and Mariano Rajoy (December 2011 to June 2018).

Answer: False

While it's true the French Socialist Party (PS) fields its position as left (more precisely center-left), Sarkozy was actually a member of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) which is a centre-right party. He was in office from May 2007 to May 2012.

Answer: Right

The BNP is usually placed on the far-right of the political spectrum. This notorious British party was founded during the year of 1982 and had Nick Griffin as its chairman between 1999 and 2014. During this period, while failing to build enough support to get an MP elected to the UK Parliament, it was successful enough to have members elected to the European Parliament and local government.

Answer: False

Tricked you again? Learn your politics. Kirchner first assumed office in December of 2007, and was elected for a second term in 2011. She was born in 1953 in La Plata and was the wife of former president Néstor Kirchner (president from May 2003 to December 2007, died in October 2010).

Answer: Right

All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" (Batkivshchyna) is a centre-right party, having ideologies such as liberal conservatism, pro-Europeanism and populism. Tymoshenko first term as Prime Minister ran from January 2005 to September 2005 (but actually only acted for around 10 days), while her second term started in December 2007, ending in March 2010.

Answer: True

Ilves, only the 4th president of the short-lived Baltic nation up to 2013, was a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDE) which is a centre-left party. Ilves was actually born in Stockholm, Sweden in late December of 1953. He's well known to wear a bowtie as his trademark image.

Answer: Cavaco Silva

Cavaco Silva was a member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and acted as the Portuguese president ever since March 2006. All the other listed presidents were left-wingers, more noticeably Mário Soares and less noticeably Ramalho Eanes who wasn't quite brought up in politics, being a military officer himself.

Answer: Right

Berlusconi served as the Prime Minister of the Italian nation three times. The first term ran from May 1994 to January 1995. The second term was the longest, starting in June 2001 and ending in May 2006. Lastly, the third stint in office began in May of 2008 and terminated in November 2011. Among many other things, Silvio Berlusconi was also well-known for being the owner of successful Italian football side A.C. Milan. Numerous scandals appeared to have ended his career when he was banned from holding public office until 2019, but as soon as the ban ended he shamelessly returned to politics, and was elected to the European Parliament.

Answer: True

Julia Gillard was the first woman to serve as Prime Minister of Australia. She assumed office in June 2010, holding the position for a total of 3 years to June 2013. She was actually born in Barry, Wales, in the United Kingdom, in September 1961.

Answer: Left

Parvanov was born in Sirishtnik, located in the Pernik Province during June 1957. Since the country was officially denominated as the Republic of Bulgaria in 1990, he was the longest serving president, with only Zhelyu Zhelev coming close (served nearly 7 years from August 1990 to January 1997).

Answer: True

Abe was a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, which surprisingly (or not) is a centre-right party in the Asian nation. He was preceded by 3 left-wing men before assuming the role. Abe was born in Nagato in September of 1954 and was a follower of the Shinto religion.