Enemy in the own kitchen. According to a psychologist, partners do not break up just because of political views, but it's probable.
Arguing about politics is not only part of ongoing election campaigns or rhetorical battles in the Chamber of Deputies, but also part of everyday life. Although the hackneyed cliché that politics does not belong in the household would fit into life, the opposite is true. Relationship dynamics are a complex web of many elements, and agreement or disagreement on political views also belongs to them.
It seems logical that young and old people have different political views, which reflect different intergenerational expectations from public administration. However, looking at political issues by the family hearth may actually look different. One of the basic political science teachings is that children tend to adopt their parents' political views to some extent.
Of course, this is not unconditionally applicable, but the influence of upbringing affects the individual in these directions. Partners can similarly influence each other. But if two people with well-defined political opinions meet long before they actually get to know each other, future harmony is definitely not automatic. On the contrary, it is likely to lead to conflict. Maintaining a taboo on political discussions in one's own kitchen is not easy at all.
"I'm upset and sad right now. We're not talking at the moment. We've had therapy several times, but I don't think it's going to help us. We're just two different people with two different views on life. For fifteen years it worked for us, but it was stormy. I'm tired and torn. He obviously has problems. It's not fair that he's taking it out on me. I'm not going to deal with it at every election or world event. I will talk about it with my therapist,"
She described her feelings from living with a partner who is a radical conservative. The American with the nickname southerbitternes did so on Reddit.
She considers herself a centrist voter, but since the time when she supported Barack Obama with her vote against Mitt Romney, politics has become a fundamental conflict line in her partner's life.
From therapy sessions, she took away the advice not to mix politics into the household. However, it probably occurs to everyone that it's not that easy to get rid of a general problem. We are currently experiencing it on our own skin during the campaign for the October elections.
Political marketing strives to infiltrate the attention of every potential voter, and hiding from this subject is particularly difficult in today's mediated times. As seen from the example provided, there are always more points of conflict in a partnership. The difference between partners is natural and a political clash in the household is just one piece of the whole relationship mosaic.
"What function can difference have in relation, or can it have, when defining oneself to an external topic can be a substitute way of how to define oneself objectively in a partnership. Or how from difference stops being enrichment and interest is lost and conflict begins. Conflict, however, is only one of the possible outcomes of the previous relationship dynamics."
Lukáš Carlos Hrubý, a psychologist and couples therapist, warned for LP-Life against simplifying the complexity of romantic relationships.
However, scientists from the Max Planck Institute have a clear statistical perspective. Different political views significantly increase the risk of a relationship breakup. Specifically, their research shows there is a 38% higher likelihood of separation if partners vote for different parties.
They don't realistically have to argue at the dinner table, it's enough that they don't share the same values. This conclusion is also demonstrated by the mentioned study, if partners have similar views, it stabilizes their relationship. Their survey on the Brexit viewpoint confirmed this. It didn't matter whether people were for leaving the European Union or against it, but if they disagreed on a key point of the island country's policy, the risk of separation was greater.
