EU: Turnout, Turnoff

The June Parliamentary elections exposed apathy among voters
and an electorate focused on punishing their national parties

A campaign poster from the FPÖ: “Social warmth, not an EU for business” | Photo: C. Cummins

On Jun. 7, 27 European countries voted to elect their representatives in the European Parliament. It was a vote that, among other things, showed a growing apathy and dissatisfaction on the part of the European population. The low turnout at the polling station proved once again people’s disappointment with their local governments – disappointment that turned into a worrying lack of interest.

Center right parties did generally well, capitalizing on their reputation for being business savvy in the midst of a Europe-wide economic downturn. But those who did vote rewarded those most critical of the Union.

In Austria, a Euro-skeptic party made surprisingly big gains. Headed by Hans-Peter Martin (HPM Liste), a member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 1999, won 17.9% of the vote, which was 3.9 points more than in the last EU election in 2004, according to figures announced by the Austria Press Agency.

The conservative People’s Party (ÖVP) lost three per cent, with 29.7% of a 42.42% turnout.

Losing the most in the election results were the Social Democrats (SPÖ). Led by Chancellor Werner Faymann, the party is the senior partner in the governing coalition with the ÖVP and lost 9.5%, falling to 23.85%. They lost two seats in the European parliament as a result.

It was the SPÖ’s worst result in a nationwide election since the end of World War II and reflected a common trend in these elections. Idealism and social responsibility, the main planks of Europe’s leftist parties, are not sought after when economic times are rough and voters become self-protective.

Last September, the SPÖ won a mere 29.3% in Austria’s parliamentary elections, but this historic low was overshadowed by their victory against their rivals, the ÖVP.