I'm not sure what is happening in Europe but we certainly do seem to have taken a worrying swing to the right as is being borne out in the Euro election results tonight.
UKIP, Britain's party of sexist, racists and homophobes have taken a large percentage of the vote while the far right National Front scored its first victory in European Parliament elections in France and Greece's extreme right Golden Dawn are thought to have won nearly 10% of the vote.
In Denmark the right wing Danish People's Party is also expected to top the polls so something is happening here.
Voter turnout in the UK was around the 30% mark and if that is replicated across the continent then it could be that the anti-EU parties got their voters out while the Pro-EU parties never and suffered for it.
The more uncomfortable answer could be that the European project with closer integration is being rejected by European voters and this is sending them a message.
My personal belief is that the anti-immigration parties blaming all our ill's on open borders are shouting the loudest and throw in the economic turmoil and bailing out of the PIIGS countries and you get a toxic mix.
How voting a large portion of anti-European MEP's to the European Parliament is going to improve things we will have to see but the Pro-Europeans will have to raise their game because we are being beaten by and having our laws made in the EU by the very people who are seeking to destroy it and that can't healthy.
2 comments:
Don't forget that the NDP took a seat in Germany!
And I've always wondered why turnout is so low in the European elections.
Always healthy to have competition q and hopefully this will spur the left out of their complacency.
I have heard that the turnout is low Nog because 'Europe is over there' that 'it isn't as if we are electing people that affect our day to day lives like MP's' and even 'I have no idea who my MEP is so didn't bother to vote'.
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