The 2002 runoff election in France was openly fascist Le Pen vs. widely hated Chirac. All the other parties joined together to defeat Le Pen, even as many of them loathed Chirac. “Vote for the crook not for the fascist” was the slogan.
Some Chirac voters suggested wearing Hazmat suits or putting clothespins on their noses when voting. Chirac demolished Le Pen. The parties then moved against Chirac. They recognized the threat Le Pen posed, eliminated it, then went back to their normal politics. Which is quite a contrast to here, where progressives and the hard left spend most their time foaming about Clinton and ignoring Trump. It’s almost like they want Trump to win. How curious. And how useless of them.
From Wikipedia:
“The choice between Chirac, who was under suspicion for actions carried out whilst he was mayor of Paris but benefited from Presidential immunity as long as he stayed president, and Le Pen, a nationalist often accused of racism and antisemitism, was one that many found tough. Some people suggested going to vote with a clothes peg on their noses to express disgust when voting for Chirac, but this may have been illegal, because it is prohibited to advertise one’s vote inside the voting precinct. In the days before the second ballot, a memorable poster was put up of Chirac with the slogan “Vote for the Crook, not the Fascist”. Chirac defeated Le Pen by a landslide.”