Swing to the right
ELECTIONS to the European Parliament came to a close on Sunday, following balloting in the 28 member countries on 22-25 May. Voters chose 751 parliamentarians to represent the 500 million citizens of the European Union. The territory has a combined GDP of EUR 13 trillion, which is the largest in the world. The shock results emerging on Sunday night confirmed widespread fears of a swing towards extreme right-wing Eurosceptic parties across the continent.
Voting started in the UK and the Netherlands on 22 May, and concluded with polling in twenty-one countries on Sunday 25 May. Exit polls showed citizens in at least six countries embracing right-wing populist, racist, anti-immigrant polemic. In the UK was there was a resounding victory for the anti-EU, anti-foreigner UKIP party and in France the right-wing Front National looked set to take a resounding 25% of the vote. Results in Austria, Denmark and Hungary also indicated a sharp swing to the right in those countries. In Greece, the left-wing Syriza movement headed by the charismatic Alexis Tsipras, was headed for a big win and at the same time the neo-fascists of the Golden Dawn party looked set to win 10% of the vote.
Overall, Europe's Christian Democrat bloc appear to be emerging as the biggest grouping in Parliament, albeit with a loss of seats and the Social Democrats are expected to come in second place, gaining ground over the previous election.
The supranational European Parliament supplements 28 national legislatures and is one of the two main institutions In the European Union providing democratic legitimacy. The other one is the European Council, comprising heads of state or government of the individual states, These two institutions share both legislative powers and control of the EU's EUR 142 billion budget—the budget finances a spectrum of work ranging from rural development and environmental protection to border protection and human rights. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm and civil service located in Brussels, reports to the European Parliament and for the first time the Parliament will elect the next President of the Commission. Over time, the Parliament's powers have been growing, but voters' interest has declined nonetheless.
Since the last elections in 2009, the EU has gone through a major economic and financial crisis, with massive bailouts in Greece, Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Cyprus imposing harsh conditions that many consider exacerbated the downturn in those countries. Youth unemployment has continued high since the crisis started, averaging about 25% across the continent, with highs of nearly 60% in Greece and Spain and a low of about 8% in Germany. This naturally promotes increased migration between European countries.
The crisis and its handling has resulted in a sharp decline in citizen confidence in the EU and its institutions. It exposed weaknesses in the design of the European Monetary Union, which establishes the convergence criteria for joining the euro, the European common currency. Eighteen EU countries have already joined and introduced the euro. As part of this project, in the late 1990's the EU introduced a rigid fiscal discipline that was inconsistently applied across countries. A new and controversial Euro Plus Pact was introduced in 2011 by the Council of Economic and Financial Ministers to strengthen and give more rigour to the original pact.
In the worst affected EU countries ordinary citizens resent the high price they are paying for the common currency. In the richer countries, especially Germany, there is widespread discontent with the high cost of bailing out countries that are viewed as fiscally irresponsible. The whole euro currency project has been called into question as ill-advised and in the process has raised fundamental doubts about the intentions and competence of EU and national leaders.
This has undermined acceptance of the EU, which had been growing. EU citizens had increasingly embraced a European identity and come to appreciate the benefits of peace, prosperity and democracy associated with the union, as well as more open markets and greater mobility. Before the crisis, in 2009, a poll showed that 15 % of EU citizens had a negative view of the EU and 50 % held a positive view. The Eurobarometer survey of 2013 showed a significant shift, with 29 % of EU citizens having a negative attitude towards the EU and only 30% with a positive attitude.
In France, a poll published on 20 May and cited by US economist Paul Krugman said that fewer than 40 percent of France's citizens think the EU is “a good thing”; 54 percent think the euro's more trouble than it's worth; and less than half even plan to vote.
The decline in trust in EU institutions has not been helped by national media that devotes little space to the work of European institutions and frequently portrays them as bloated, technocratic and interfering. Nor does it help that to date the European Parliament attracts a more mediocre class of candidates than can be found on the ballot at national level. If you ask people to name outstanding representatives in the European Parliament they are hard-pressed to name more than three.
Added to that, decision-making by the EU civil service is often seen to lack sufficient accountability and there is a popular perception that business lobbyists hold an undue sway over decision-making in Brussels and in Strasbourg (where the Parliament meets). On 24 April 2014, Transparency International issued a report highlighting corruption risks in ten EU institutions. The report identified major flaws such as the absence of mandatory lobbying rules and the growing trend of EU institutions to negotiate laws behind closed doors. It also cited as a deficiency that there is no independent monitoring of the application of ethics rules to senior officials.
An increasing number of citizen's initiatives are working to achieve greater accountability. In the lead-up to the European Parliament elections, an NGO coalition has been campaigning to get future members of the European Parliament to commit to support the regulation and transparency of lobbying pledging to “stand-up for citizens and democracy against the excessive lobbying influence of banks and big business.” As of 21 May, over 1100 candidates in 19 countries had signed up. Other groups have conducted hackathons producing information about MEP voting records and asset declarations.
Doubts about the way Brussels functions, combined with economic setbacks has provided fertile ground for extreme right-wing parties across Europe. The attraction of their extremist positions may also have resulted from a lack of mainstream, moderate debate about Europe which has driven the policy dissenters to the fringes. The populist right offers refuge for those questioning Europe and for those on the losing end of the project. They also provide a haven for those on the conservative and religious side of social issues, especially regarding homosexuality. This was demonstrated by reactions to the success of a bearded transvestite named Conchita Wurst in the Eurovision song contest on 8 May. The various right-wing parties also have in common their pro-Russian inclinations.
By way of a counter-impulse, the recent crisis in the Ukraine has breathed new life and attractiveness into the European Union, especially in the eastern part of the continent where a common fear of Russian incursions may have played a role in dampening the rise of anti-EU parties.
With the election results now in, the next big milestone for Europe will be the selection of the President of the European Commission, where the lead contenders are Luxembourg's former Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, the centre-right candidate, and the German Martin Schulz, of the centre-left. In light of the dramatic gains made by anti-EU parties, the European agenda for the next five years is unlikely to include any steps in the direction of a real EU federation. Indeed, turbulent times may lie ahead for the European Parliament just when its powers have expanded and other EU institutions may also face increased roadblocks.
The writer is Director, Transparency International, Berlin.
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