It's true! I noticed it when voting on Saturday (there's another diary to be written about that - massive government-sponsored voter registration campaigns, three polling places within walking distance, and a total of four minutes from getting in line to leaving the building).
Hi, my name is Rupert, and I'm a serial emigrator.
[Hi, Rupert]
Every time I leave a country, the next election changes the government in favour of the good guys. Every time I arrive, bad things happen.
In 1994, I began the process of immigrating to the US from the UK. The US at the time had a Democrat in the White House, and Democrats in control of both houses of Congress. The UK had had 15 years of Conservative government. I finally got my visa at the end of 1995 (delayed by months thanks to Gingrich's government shut down). I should have taken the hint, and not moved, but my wife and 8/9ths of my son were waiting for me. At the next general election, Labour won a huge landslide.
In 2005, I moved from the US to New Zealand. Labour had just been returned for a third term. In 2006 Democrats took back the House and Senate. In 2008, well, you know what happened last week. This weekend, in the New Zealand general election, National won 59 of 122 seats in Parliament. John Key is no John McCain, but he looks to be bringing the unrepentant lassez-faire economics of the ACT party into his coalition.
I promise to let you know before I move again.