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Elections 2009

6. Results 2009

“Swing low, swing right” was The Economist's take on the European elections 2009. The headline said it all: a record low turnout combined with a landslide for the European People's Party.

Just 43% of the electorate voted, representing a 20% drop on the first European elections of 1979. But it could have been worse. The Commission's own pre-election survey, Eurobarometer 70, predicted a likely turnout of 34%.

Creeping Extremism
Voter apathy is a thorny issue, but the rise of anti-immigration, far-right parties could change the fabric of European politics. The Dutch 'Party of Freedom' (PVV) gained 4 MEPs and came in second place in the Netherlands. The PVV wants to boot Romania and Bulgaria out of the Union, ban the Koran, and close the European Parliament.

Meanwhile, the British National Party (BNP) won its first 2 MEPs for regions in northern England, raking in nearly a million votes. BNP leader Nick Griffin claims to be colour-blind on immigration, also rapping the 'flood' of Polish workers on the UK job market.

Right Effects?
Seats went to far-right parties from Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, and Slovakia, often at the expense of centre-left candidates. Britain's Labour party had its worst election result since the war, even trailing in behind the Eurosceptic UK Independence Party. French Socialists fared little better, after a year of fractious disputes.

Ruling centre-right parties swept to first place in France, Germany and even Italy, despite the philandering scandal of premier Berlusconi. Conservatives took three quarters of the vote in Poland, but only edged to victory in Spain and Portugal.

European Socialists still comprise the second largest group, but their influence is clearly waning. Liberal and centre parties were also well down on their 2004 showing. The Greens, however, bucked the trend to the right, scoring especially high in France.

Overall, the centre-right victory should boost the re-election campaign of Commission President José Manuel Barroso.

Image courtesy of the European Parliament. Click here for more.