With Britain on the verge of exiting the European Union, the EU general elections had gained prominence. Europe has learned many lessons from this.
 |
| Photo (https://unsplash.com/photos/z-_s3qA-Jv0) |
Parliamentary elections in Europe are a complex and somewhat different matter. The difference is that the European Parliament is not the only and decisive body of the European Union. This Parliament also has no control over the financial budget. Although Brussels - the capital of the European Union - is supposed to be an invisible and omnipotent power center, the two sovereignty is still in the hands of many European countries. Maybe that's why voters in Europe aren't taking this election very seriously. At the same time, these elections focus on national issues rather than the work done by the European Union, and the results of the elections reflect national issues. But does this happen in every election, if not. This is why the European Union elections are so complicated to assess.
The election, which took place at a time when Britain was on the verge of exiting the federation, was of paramount importance. Against this backdrop, it became more curious to know what the voting was like between May 23 and 26, 2019. Europe has learned some lessons from this. This is their argument
Lesson 1 - Underlining the Importance of Europe
The election showed that voters felt the importance of Europe. As a result of the bombardment by the members of the European Parliament, the turnout was as high as 50.50 per cent. This percentage of the vote silenced critics. The turnout of 56.67 per cent in 1994 is the highest ever in all elections. In 2014, this percentage had reached a low of 42.54 per cent. So no matter how hard you try, the turnout will not increase, critics say. But looking at the turnout, voters seem to have responded strongly to the critics.
Voters in Belgium are in the lead among those who turned out in large numbers. Belgium recorded 89 percent of the vote, followed by Slovakia (23 percent). In most of the remaining European countries, the turnout was 40 to 60 per cent. Western member states (Denmark 66 per cent, Spain 64 per cent, Germany 62 per cent) have a slightly higher turnout. In Eastern Europe, however, the same figure is hovering around 50 per cent (Romania 49 per cent, Poland and Hungary 43 per cent each). France (51 per cent) and Italy (56 per cent) also saw higher-than-expected turnout.
Lesson 2 - Climate change for Europeans
The change that voters want is the most important message in this election. But it is also clear that there is a division among the voters. According to preliminary figures, the European People's Party (EPP / 178 seats, down 38) and the Socialists and Democrats (S&D / 147, down 38) in the European Parliament have seen a drop in votes, respectively.
The Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) and Emmanuel Macron's N Marche (101 seats, 32 seats), The Greens / European Free Alliance (70 seats, 20 seats) All these fronts have won the Nations (71 seats, 35 seats gains). These victorious fronts are dominated by various national development works.
The resounding success of the Green Party is considered a symbol of great victory in Germany. Liberals were able to win the election because of Macron's La Republique en Marche movement, as well as the inclusion of Liga Nord, a popular right-wing party in Italy, and its popular leader, Matteo Salvini. France's popular right-wing leader, Marine La Pen, was almost flat in the 2014 election. But as luck would have it, nothing like that happened.
A majority in the European Parliament requires the support of 376 members. But at present no party has such a large number. Therefore, new and changing fronts will prevail in the newly formed European Parliament. So the important difference is that the old-fashioned way of dealing with the back door will be discontinued, which in a sense is just right. Manfred Weber, the EPP's candidate for the presidency of the European Commission, is now in the lead. Weber is unlikely to replace Jean-Claude Juncker. German Chancellor Angela Merkel's popularity has plummeted. His party, the Christian Democrats, lost 8 percent of the vote. So it will be important for Macron + ALDE and the Greens to cast their votes in the race for the presidency of the European Parliament.
Lesson 3 - The Growing Popularity of Right-Wing Leaders
Right-wing parties will form the fourth largest group in the newly formed European Parliament. Matteo Salvini's dream of setting up an almighty group will be shattered. In fact, Salvini's Liga Nord party won 33 percent of the vote, making him a strong contender for the post. For many other countries, the results have been mixed.
In France, Marin La Pen's Resemblement National party is behind President Macron's La Republique en Marche (22.4 percent) with 23.3 percent of the vote. The blow to Penn's party is like a defeat for Macron. The rise of the Nazi party (11%) in Germany's AFD has stalled. The party did not gain much support in the Netherlands (4.1 per cent) and Austria (17.3 per cent). However, in Hungary (56 per cent) and Poland (42.4 per cent), where they have governments, popular parties are in a strong position.
Lesson 4 - Widening the gap between East and West
The election created a picture of the disintegration of Eastern and Western Europe. This is a matter of concern. While the majority of voters in Western Europe voted for change, the bitter response to popular right-wing parties in Eastern Europe is worrying.
This implies that the fundamentalist ideology of Hungary and Poland is now different from the ideology of the European Union. So the process of European integration is going to slow down. It is true that Europe no longer has the conducive environment needed to make policy decisions on European security cooperation or China. There is also a picture of ambiguity about how to treat migrants and their role in the eurozone.
Lesson 5 - Britain as a True European:
Britain is currently plagued by Brexit. However, Nigel Farage's Brexit party (31.6 per cent) received more votes than the Liberal Democrats (20.3 per cent) who were not in favor of Brexit. It was obvious. With this election, it has become clear that no matter what happens now, the thorns of time cannot be reversed. The funny thing about these results is that while the various power centers are being defeated, Britain alone is showing signs of surviving in the mainstream of Europe. These centers of power are even larger than the Huzur (9.1 per cent) and Labor (14.1 per cent) parties.
Conclusion
This year's elections to the European Parliament are conducive to democracy in Europe. Voters have sent a clear yet diverse message to mainstream parties that they want more transparency and more value for their votes. The Liberals and the Greens, who won this election, have the ability to make responsible decisions, and if the mainstream parties learn the right lesson from this election defeat, Europe will emerge from its current state and once again shine on the world horizon as a strong federation. However, if nothing is learned from this, Europe is likely to sink further. Hundreds of right-wing parties are far from losing. They have the potential to get elected by a majority in countries like France, Italy, Hungary and Poland. The current situation in Europe is better than in 2014, but the situation is still not broken.
Post a Comment