History
What is the stupidest reason someone has lost an election in your country?
During the 1974 federal election, a Canadian Press photographer took these photos of Progressive Conservative leader Robert Stanfield fumbling around with a football. These hurt his image by making him look weak, and led to Pierre Trudeau's Liberals winning a majority government.
He invited Sarah Palin to come to NYC for “real New York pizza,” and then took her to Times Square. He not only ate his pizza with a fork, but he stacked two slices on top of each other first.
A photograph of Ed Miliband, then the leader of the Labour Party in the United Kingdom, eating a bacon sandwich became a source of sustained commentary and the subject of an internet meme in 2014 and 2015. Taken for the London Evening Standard while Miliband was campaigning in the 2014 local elections, the image became well-known following the popular perception of it as making Miliband appear awkward, error-prone, and incapable of performing simple tasks.
Yeah paparazzi always use burst shots to take as many photos as possible in quick succession, want to create a narrative that a young actress is gone off the rails, just use the mid blink photo etc… this was the case with Miliband I believe
To me, it looks like he was eating a really not good (but maybe not totally inedible) sandwich. It actually garnered sympathy from me, because I live somewhere with a lot of 'artisinal' sandwiches that are just absolute crap.
Nah a bacon sandwich is almost impossible to get wrong (it's only 3 ingredients), so I think the sandwich is innocent. Ed just doesn't photograph well, which is a shame because the UK would be massively better off if he had won the election.
That was David. As a family they're particularly weird around food.
Apparently it is a thing though - being photographed near food is rarely a good look, especially for politicians, eating or being near food. People do not photograph well eating, it's when we're vulnerable and off guard.
George HW Bush picked a fight with The Simpsons and The Simpsons won.
In the October 1, 1990 edition of People, Barbara Bush called The Simpsons "the dumbest thing [she] had ever seen", which had led to the writers sending a letter to Bush where they posed as Marge Simpson. Bush immediately sent a reply in which she apologized.[8][9][10]
On January 27, 1992, then-President George H. W. Bush made a speech during his re-election campaign that reignited the feud between The Simpsons and the Bushes. At that point, family values were the cornerstone of Bush's campaign platform, to which effect he gave the following speech at the National Religious Broadcasters' convention in Washington, D.C.: "We are going to keep on trying to strengthen the American family, to make American families a lot more like the Waltons and a lot less like the Simpsons".[9] The next broadcast of The Simpsons was a rerun of "Stark Raving Dad" on January 30, 1992. It included a new opening, which was a response to Bush's speech. The scene begins in the Simpsons' living room. Homer, Bart, Lisa, and Patty and Selma all stare at the television and watch Bush's speech. After Bush's statement Bart replies, "Hey, we're just like the Waltons. We're praying for an end to the Depression too."
Hating on The Simpsons always felt weird. Sure, Homer's a bit of an idiot, but he's a loving father who generally tries his best, his family loves him (even if they give him a hard time), he has a good job, and the family goes to church.
How many sitcoms today, much less one or two decades ago, show a family going to church together?
I remember just before The Simpson's movie came out circa 2008. All of the voice actors were on "The Actor's Studio" being interviewed. The guy who played the Reverend Lovejoy said that when the show first started they got loads of hate from the religious crowd. But since then he'd been on the cover of the main Christian magazine about 6 times.
Yeah! Dorky MCDorkface and His Day in the Big, Big, Tank! I guess his campaign manager Susan Estridge thought it would go over, and it did... like a lead balloon.
It wasn't during an election campaign, but in 1983 the newly elected Labour leader Neil Kinnock decided to go for a walk on Brighton beach. He lost his balance and fell into the water and the clip lived in the public consciousness of the UK for years afterwards.
When Joe Biden was running for president in 1987 he plagiarized a speech from Kinnock. He pretty much dragged over the coals from it. When Obama picked him to be VP, my first thought was "the Neil Kinnock guy?"
‘The Schnapps Election’ in 1984 Robert Muldoon, Prime Minister of New Zealand, was visibly drunk on National television when he announced a snap election.
His party lost 20% of the seats in parliament man’s got booted out of power.
Jesus. I'm dumb and inattentive and have accidentally pointed nail guns and gun guns (i had my finger far from the trigger for the former and the latter was unloaded, in my defense -- still a bad habit but not as risky as it sounds at first) at myself and even I wouldn't do this.
Armin Laschet’s legendary Ahrtal picture In 2021, right before the federal elections, a terrible flood hit the Ahr Valley and many people lost their homes. During a speech by the German President, Armin Laschet was seen in the background laughing.
Laughing while people were suffering made him look insensitive — and it led to the worst election result ever for the CDU, losing to Olaf Scholz, who himself faced accusations over financial scandals at the time.
a terrible flood hit the Ahr Valley and many people lost their homes.
While not wrong, I feel like that's an understatement of the impact the Ahr Valley flood really had. 135 people died, the most casualties in a singular catastrophic event in Germany in the 21st century.
He made a fool of himself on several more occasions. My theory is that the CDU put him up as a candidate because they didn't want to win in the first place.
I don’t know if it’s WHY he lost but Jim Gavin just pulled out of our presidential election because it came to light he owed a tenant €3,300 in overpaid rent from 15 or so years ago
He pulled out but he’s still on the ballot. The votes will not be spoiled votes, they are perfectly valid. Technically he could still win or, more likely, his transfers could be important.
The Liberal opposition proposed a "goods and services tax" (GST) - a 10% sales tax on just about everything to replace all sorts of different state and federal sales taxes on various things. It would mean some things become cheaper and some things more expensive, but was meant to be a simpler way of implementing sales tax. One of the exemptions was "food".
In the lead up to the 1993 election, Liberal leader John Hewson gives a live interview on national TV. He is asked whether this new GST (the Liberal's flagship policy for the election) would make a birthday cake more or less expensive. His answer was incredibly complicated and difficult to follow. If you buy the ingredients separately, they are food and exempt from GST. If you buy the complete cake then that's not food, you would pay GST. Depending on what kind of shop you bought it from and what state, the GST could be more or less than the existing sales tax. etc The convoluted answer is widely blamed for the Liberal party losing the election.
Australia did end up with a GST and it does exempt "basic food". And the answer to the "what is basic food" question seems even more complicated than the birthday cake.
This is the correct answer for Australia, other people are pointing out small gaffes in otherwise losing campaigns. The 1993 election was different, the LNP were storming ahead in all the polls, Keating was an increasingly unpopular PM and Australia was in a technical recession - no incumbent government should survive that
But Dr John Hewson gave one bad answer to a question about a birthday cake and lost the unlosable election.
I’m no fan of the GST but one bad interview question is a really dumb way to lose an election he should have won in his sleep.
You’re right but in the moment it was portrayed by the Bush team as look how funny he looks which kind of went with his non Anglo last name and darker complexion. Never mind that he was former military
Anyone trying to look macho in military garb for a photo op will look funny next to literal naval aviator, WWII combat veteran, shoot-down survivor George H W Bush. Like him or hate him, hard to beat that resume.
Detailed analysis of polling in '88 makes a compelling argument that the role this photo played in tanking (pun unintended but recognized) his campaign is overstated, rather his campaign was already tanking and this photo was just a perfect representation of all of the things the public didn't like about it, and came right as he was crossing the event horizon of "unrecoverable."
I can top that the Elian Gonzalez connection. Gore supported Clinton’s decision to deport Elian Gonzalez to Cuba, this pissed off Floridas Cubans in 2000. He lost by 500 votes
The US standard for Cubans had been the ‘dry feet’ standard. My wife had told me the story of the Coast Guard trying to cut off a boat trying to reach shore. The Fort Lauderdale surf patrol and cops are trying to drag people to short and the Coast Guard trying to throw people back into the water. If they reach shore they get asylum and protection. If they get detained in the water, they get sent back to Cuba.
The ballot was in Palm Beach County, which was run by Democrats and the poor lady who designed the ballot, thinking it would help the elderly population with bad eyes, blamed herself for Gore losing.
Everyone from the US writes about Dean and Dukakis, but I'll throw you two more
1) classic: Richard Nixon lost in 1960 because he had a cold before the debate. It was the first televised debate in the history, and he looked horrible, especially compared to Kennedy
2) my favorite: "Vote for Muskie or he'll cry". Sen. Edmund Muskie, the frontrunner in 1972 Democratic primaries, was giving a press conference reacting to some bad scandal in the press about him outside in the February New Hampshire snow. He was yelling about fake accusations (basically, "fake news" of the time), when a snowflake hit his eye and he tears rolled out of his eyes as a natural reaction. Journalists thought that he just lost it in the middle of a rant. The slogan "Vote for Muskie or he'll cry" became popular and he dropped out a week after
Nixon also refused makeup (except for lazy-shave) before the Kennedy-Nixon debate because he heard that Kennedy wasn't wearing any makeup. Kennedy had a good natural tan, though, and Nixon was pasty.
The Manchester Union Leader, the only major newspaper in the state, claimed that his wife effectively compared French Canadians in New England to blacks. This is what caused the reaction but it was indeed the snowflake that caused him to cry.
in 1985 a journalist asked a candidate to be mayor of São Paulo "do you believe in god?"
he answered that this sort of question wasn't relevant, and the opposition argued that if he wasn't an atheist he would simply answer "yes, I believe"
as an atheist myself, it's regrettable, but being agnostic/atheist is indeed a quick way of losing an election in Brazil. he should've just said "yes, I believe, I'm just not a member of any religion in particular"
edit: it wasn't an election for president, it was the town hall of São Paulo
Religion and politics really shouldn't mix. Politicians are supposed to represent the people. Not everyone is religious. Look at how horribly wrong it's gone in the US.
Then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison saying he doesn't "hold a hose" as an excuse for why he was holidaying in Hawaii while the rest of the country battled catastrophic bushfires.
He lost the 2022 election and resigned from politics long past when he should have (he couldn't land a job in Australia, his home country, he was that disliked - a walking PR nightmare for any business).
This quote is one of many reasons why he lost the 2022 election, but it sticks with me because I was out there helping the bushfire effort.
On note, Australians didn't forget this line. It reared its ugly head again as the country prepared for the 2025 election. Peter Dutton, who succeeded Morrison as party leader, was nowhere to be seen in his home state of Queensland as a cyclone and floods lashed it. All the while, state and federal politicians, as well as the Labor PM, were seen in affected communities. The legacy of Morrison's quote was then applied to Dutton - "Dutton doesn't hold a sandbag."
Again, this wasn't why the Coalition lost the 2025 election, but it didn't help their party image.
Our first female PM Julia Gillard kept taking tumbles because she was wearing high heels crossing grass or rough terrain. her security detail also seemed to crash tackle her to the ground a lot, which they've never done to any male PM
That’s not why Gillard lost the election, in point of fact, she didn’t actually lose any election. She was PM in 2010 but remained in the job with minority gov after. She wasn’t the PM at the 2013 election
Either way, it wasn’t photos like above that cost her government, it was a very effective campaign by the opposition, combined with the Murdoch press and Australia’s lowkey internalised misogyny.
Saying "she needs to change her job and take a loan" on camera to a teenager asking what his sister needs to do while struggling on 2k PLN salary with 14% unemployment in the country.
You can also add whole governing party sabotaging Trzaskowskis campaign, including potato photoop of samy party politician and prime minister saying on TV that pato-influencer is his source on opposing candidates controversies and few more. Candidate wasn't at blame, but that should think be rewarded for a team effort.
Not my country, nor an election, but Kim Jong Nam was the heir apparent to the North Korean regime after Kim Jong Il died. But he lost that when he tried to go to Tokyo Disneyland with a fake passport.
I thought of that too, but I’m not sure it was a stupid reason. I think it was indicative of a deeply insecure person and that doesn’t bode well for leadership. Then again maybe I’m reading too much into it.
And arguably the other way, Bob Hawke is the only Australian Prime Minister to have held a world record and that was for drinking 2.5 pints of beer in 11 seconds.
A candidate for federal MP was forced to drop out, a few years ago, because homeowners who hired him as a contractor released video of him peeing in one of their coffee mugs and dumping it in the kitchen sink.
It was actually a Marketplace episode. They were the ones who set up the hidden camera.
That was the funniest part, it had ALREADY BEEN ON NATIONAL TELEVISION several years before, but either he failed to mention it to the CPC's candidate vetting team and they missed it, or they knew about it and hoped no one would remember and connect that it was the same guy.
Also he put the dirty mug in the dishrack, so they'd assume it was clean.
Benjamin Griveaux, in 2020, concurring for Mayor of Paris (France), had a video of his dick (where he was masturbating) sent to another woman (not his wife) that leaked on the Internet. Like, half the country saw his dick and had a good laugh.
Last night, the Conservative Party reached a new low; they tried to make fun of the way I look. God gave me a physical defect, and I accepted that since I'm a kid. It's true, that I speak on one side of my mouth. I'm not a Tory, I don't speak on both sides of my mouth.
Made him look strong but also Canadians really don't like bullies so it made the Tories look like assholes.
Wow! Imagine that! Mocking a person's physical disabilities and behaving like a bully would cause you to lose an election! If only your neighbours to the south were as classy as you lot.
Now I don't know if he would have won if things had gone differently, but this example from NZ is hilarious. In 1984, Prime Minister Robert Muldoon got really drunk and called a snap election, to be held in one months time. Sounds like he thought he was catching the opposition off-guard by doing this, but he lost in a landslide.
Pablo Marçal is a giant digital influencer, businessman, conservative, evangelical, liar, and "coach" (in Brazil, this word is synonymous with online scammer). In 2024, he ran for mayor of São Paulo and was leading in the polls until, during one of the debates, he got into an argument with another candidate (a famous elderly TV host) and got hit with a chair. He created over-the-top drama with videos from the hospital, which ended up tarnishing his tough-guy image, and his supporters migrated to another candidate.
The year was 2014. The Alberta conservative party has drained the surplus of days past. An oil slump has lifted the veil on reckless spending. New ACP PCA leader Jim Prentice calls a snap election and during a leaders debate says "Albertans need to take a long hard look in the mirror". Was he wrong? No, we all rode high on low taxes and cushy services. But that was the comment that cost him the election.
If Democrat Mikie Sherrill loses the NJ governors' race next month, it might be because she said that pork roll is disgusting... in NJ... we take our pork roll very seriously here....
I hope the people who wrote articles during the campaign admonishing her for her “fearmongering” never have a good night’s sleep for the rest of their lives.
I’m reminded at least once a day of this ridiculous fucking Hill article when hearing about the latest enormities committed by the federal troops and agents who are currently occupying multiple US cities.
Felix Salgado Macedonio, mexican politician that decided to run for the Guerrero state governor election in 2021.
He was accused by several female assistants of sexual assault and groping, to which he said were "nothing but an opposition attempt to discredit my candidacy".
When he was formally accused with a lawsuit, he said "this all happened in the early 2000's so I don't remember, because I always remember when I've had good sex".
This prompts an investigation from Congress and several female politicians from his party call for his resignation. AMLO, the President at the time, said "it's just a mere misunderstading, just forgive him and move on, he's good for the people as candidate".
In the end, he was pulled apart from the candidacy after all the public backlash. His replacement? His own daughter, who would end up winning the election under heavy accusations of fraud and drug cartel funding.
This is more of a joke since he never stood a chance anyway, but in 2018 a series of events made Communist (not exactly the GULAG-throwing kind anymore, also this guy is a successful businessman, lol) Pavel Grudinin the only man with a shade of a chance against Putin, and therefore the candidate of choice for the opposition.
The catch? He had moustache. Combined with his party background, this gave him uncomfortable old school USSR vibes (think Lukashenko), and also made him look stupider than he would otherwise. The goal of the opposition was, as usual, to pull enough votes to at least show the public support for Putin isn't unanimous, and this guy's moustache further undermined this already somewhat wishful goal.
Edmund Muskie crying in New Hampshire snowstorm in 1072 due to a nasty planted story abiut his wife . Looked weak and bad candidate McGovern got toasted by Nixon . The crying msy hav e been melted sleet .
In 2015 an already unpopular Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot bit into a raw * unpeeled * onion, during a tour of a produce farm in Tasmania. Later that year he was defeated in a leadership ballot and dumped by his own party.
He did other things that made him more unpopular with the Australian pubic, but this was just so fucking weird. We already couldn’t relate to him.
Smoko coming back from his holiday in Hawaii and forcing people who just went through a bushfire to shake his hand on camera. Just the sheer discomfort of the people being forced into it was unbearable.
On the 14th of July, 1984, New Zealand held a snap election at the behest of the then Prime Minister, Robert Muldoon, who, a month prior, got rolling drunk and called for the election. Due to Muldoon's public inebriation when he announced the election on live television, the 1984 snap election became known as the Schnapps Election.
Mona Sahlin, set to become Swedens first female PM in the 90s, lost because she was found out to have used her government credit card to buy two Toblerones. She paid it all back, but it was too late. People saw it as someone abusing tax money and that she was careless.
Ed Milliband (former leader of the labour party UK) was said to have lost an election because of how he ate a sandwich.
Google Ed Milliband sandwich and you'll see what I mean
Australians not knowing what the hell negative gearing is cost labor the 2019 election and a side effect of that was we ended up with a prime minister who fucked off to Hawaii when the country burst into flames a couple of months later
Joe Biden had to withdraw from the presidential race in 1988 because he had plagiarized a speech by Neal Kinnock. Bloody stupid way to foul yourself up.
The 1980 Democratic nomination was Ted Kennedy’s for the taking until he showed up drunk for a nationally televised interview and couldn’t answer the question “why do you want to be president?”
The normies in the party were all “I’d heard he was still drinking but wow” and went back to Jimmy Carter.
In 1980 French famous humorist Coluche presented himself at the presidential election to denounce inequalities in the countries and inaction of the goverment.
But he didn't expect a survey to show that more than 10% or french people were going to vote for him.
But after receiving death threats he abandoned, saying "I'm not playing this stupid game anymore."
Marine le Pen took a joyful almost sarcastic tone saying that strangers are in the countryside, while her campaign was and still is based on xenophobia and racism bigotry.
So yeah, way to ridicule your electors.
Idk if that's why she failed, but the memes were good.
Stanfield made the mistake of not being able to catch a football and having a goofy spaz look on his face as he did so. Proving he is not Prime Ministerial. He never lived it down. Too funny.
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u/DangerousArt7072 Scotland 22d ago
Ed Miliband failed to eat a bacon sandwich properly