The most hilarious part to me in recent years is when the Dutch commentators are saying stuff like "Oh, those Eastern European countries are all voting for each other" and then it gets to the Dutch vote and they give Belgium twelve or ten points and vice versa. We are just as guilty of 'favouring our neighbour' as most countries are, and part of it will be that if Belgium or the Netherlands come in with a Dutch-language song, basically only the Dutch and the Flemish in the audience will be able to fully appreciate the lyrics. Even if the singing itself is subpar, if they dig the lyrics, they may give it a higher vote than someone else would. Aside from that, there are significant cultural parallels. Likewise, Scandinavian countries tend to give each other high votes, and no one seems to be b-tching about that.
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clarity of thought before rashness of action