In-House Counsel

European Democracy at Work!

On 7 June, I joined citizens across Europe by going to the ballot box to elect the European Parliament for the eighth time; although sadly more than half of the electorate stayed at home.  Before the vote, the political chatter had focused on what the reaction of the electorate would be to the economic crisis and how the centre-right EPP grouping (the largest in the Parliament) would fare. The UK Conservatives had announced they would be splintering off from the group with like-minded parties from the Czech Republic and Poland in the new Parliament.

While the exact make-up isn’t yet clear, from the provisional results the biggest themes seem to be a dramatic loss for the centre left and a growth in fringe parties.  The EPP held its own despite the loss of their UK and Czech chapters. 

In many countries, the ruling parties were punished in the polls in what is seen as a reaction struggling economies across Europe.  That being said, centre-left governments seem to have suffered more.  The UK and Portuguese governments were heavily defeated while the opposition Popular Party beat the ruling Socialists in Spain.  In contrast, the EPP-affiliated governments in France, Germany, Italy and Poland more than held their own.  The far right and anti-immigration parties made significant ground, returning MEPs in the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, Slovakia, Hungary and the UK.

Full post as published by Cisco High Tech Policy Blog on June 09, 2009 (boomark / email).