[furiens]

The effects of partisanship are hugely outweighed by the fact that each country gives points to 10 others, not just one. An extreme case of both the 10 and 12 points going to non-deserving neighbours still leaves 36 points to go elsewhere.

[ldjb]

Except that for countries with lots of neighbours, they're likely to consistently receive 10 or 12 points.

Sure, other countries will also receive points, but far fewer, and therefore they are at a disadvantage.