After Eurovision Final, Dismay That Politics Didn’t Play a Bigger Role

Politics has no place in the Eurovision Song Contest, or so declares a fundamental rule of the glittery international competition.

But there are no rules forbidding the contest’s politicalization after the fact.

This week, after Bulgaria won a surprising victory at the annual Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday, the director of Moldova’s public broadcaster resigned because his country’s jury had awarded neighboring Romania only three points, instead of the maximum of 12. In Poland, two lawmakers publicly complained that their country’s Eurovision act had not received any points from Ukraine, suggesting a lack of gratitude from an ally.

The implication in both episodes was that political alliances, and not simply the quality of performance, should play a role in the voting. One politician in Poland, for instance, seemed eager to remind Ukraine that without his country’s assistance, “there would be no independent Ukraine today.”

In truth, Eurovision, which was first held in 1956 and this year included votes from 35 countries, has long been tinged with politics. In 1969, Austria boycotted the contest because the host nation, Spain, was under a dictatorship. In 2022, Russia was barred from participating after it invaded Ukraine, which would win Eurovision that year. This year, five countries boycotted the competition in protest over Israel’s inclusion, as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepened. (This year, Israel took second place.)

“These scandals are nothing new,” Dean Vuletic, the author of a book on the political history of Eurovision, said in a phone interview on Wednesday.

Vuletic dated the idea that political alliances influence Eurovision to at least the 1960s — “when the Nordic countries complained that the Francophone countries voted for each other” — even if organizers had long aimed to prevent such bloc voting.

Still, he added, referring to Moldova, “it is rather surprising that the head of television would resign because of something like this.”

The European Broadcasting Union, which runs the contest, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Eurovision’s winner is determined by adding up two sets of points: those awarded by the national juries from the participating countries and those based on votes from viewers at home during a nail-biting 40 minutes after the final performance.

Margarita Druta, Moldova’s presenter who announced the points from her country’s national jury on Saturday, later said in a video on social media that she had been shocked by Moldova’s score for Romania, which finished third in the contest.

“I’m still shaking,” she said, “and I can’t get over it.”

Fans also took to social media to complain, and the backlash led Vlad Turcanu, the director Moldova’s public broadcaster, Teleradio-Moldova, to announce his resignation on Monday.

Turcanu said that while the broadcaster distanced itself from the jury’s score, it still took responsibility. “Our stance toward Ukraine is not one of zero points,” he said. “Our feeling toward Romania can only be one of love.”

In Poland, two politicians expressed similar dismay with the outcome, saying that they were surprised to see that Ukraine had awarded their country’s act zero points. (Poland finished 12th.)

“If I were in Ukraine’s place, I would consider whether to appreciate Poland for helping them maintain their independence,” Przemysław Czarnek, a right-wing politician, told reporters during a news conference.

Tobiasz Bochenski, a right-wing member of the European Parliament, said in a radio interview on Monday that Poland’s diplomatic relationship with Ukraine and Israel should now be rethought.

“The fact that our vocalist received zero points from both Ukraine and Israel is something scandalous,” he said. “This should give many people food for thought.”

Vuletic, the author, called the appeals for alliances to be renewed or realized “quite strange.”

Paul Jordan, a researcher who calls himself “Dr. Eurovision,” said politics had seemed to seep into Eurovision more often in recent years.

“It makes a farce of the competition,” he said. “It makes a mockery of the juries who do good work.”

Andrada Lautaru and Zuzanna Piekarska contributed translation help.