2010 Esthursian general election

2010 Esthursian general election

4 April, 2010
851 in the House of Ministers; 401 in the House of Barons
Turnout	72.2%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Tharbjorn Einarsson John Largan Arnold Corrigan Party Conservative Union Social Democrats Agrarian Democrats Leader since 2 April, 2009 17 June, 2007 16 July, 2004 Seats won 144 Barons 389 Ministers 78 Barons 233 Ministers 37 Barons 43 Ministers Seat change Popular vote 21,437,579 23,358,485 11,688,933 15,612,292 4,061,903 3,780,192 Percentage 35.7% 38.9% 19.5% 26.0% 6.7% 6.3% Swing   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Benjamin Newberry Morwen Llethan Nick Nottingley Party Progressive Group The Localist Group National Democrats Leader since 1 November, 2003 2 April, 2003 11 December, 2006 Seats won 27 Barons 37 Ministers 22 Barons 41 Ministers 18 Barons 13 Ministers Seat change Popular vote 4,023,237 6,184,975 1,381,110 1,261,019 2,601,424 2,882,315 Percentage 6.7% 10.3% 2.3% 2.1% 4.4% 4.8% Swing
Prime Minister before election Tharbjorn Einarsson Conservative Union (minor-majority) Elected Prime Minister Tharbjorn Einarsson Conservative Union (minority)

The 2010 Esthursian general election was held on 4 April, 2010, as per the Constitutional term limits in Esthursia. This election resulted in the third consecutive Conservative government being elected, however economic stagnation (which was the culminate in the 2010-11 financial crisis just months later), one-nation fears over the new more right-wing Conservative Prime Minister Tharbjorn Einarsson, and the personal popularity of new Social Democrat leader John Largan all contributed to the closest election in a decade as well as the Conservatives having to seek a coalition with the Agrarian Democrats. As Einarsson and the Conservatives at large had mostly expected a 2002-style landslide as enjoyed by his predecessor Isaac Harding, the verdict heavily dented his popularity. The centrist Middle Group also suffered the loss of most of their seats, having previously been the third largest party, with several other third parties making considerable inroads as a result.

This was the latest general election not to elect a Social Democrat government, as of February 2022, as well as the highest Conservative vote for over a decade. Einarsson remained as Prime Minister following the election, however a mix of perceived underperformance and disillusionment in the political centreground led to his approval figures never recovering to pre-election figures. Largan also enjoyed an increased share of seats and became the first leader since the early 1990s to be more popular than the party at large.