EP elections 2014

[EPG]

Can this story be correct? The elections are run by national governing bodies in each country.

The European Union would jump up and down if an aid-recipient country in Africa sat on ballot boxes for three days, but I guess it's OK for the old imperialists.

There's no reason why all the EP seats should even be elected on the same day. It's most comparable as a legislature to regionally-rotating bodies like the Bundesrat or the United States Senate. It doesn't elect a government on its own initiative, even by convention, and its majority is largely notional.

It's simply an effort by the Commission to force more artificial unity on a diverse continent.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Increasingly I think that it would be better if the European Parliament went back to indirect elections. For one thing would actually have more clout.

[EPG]

An indirectly-elected European Parliament? Interesting.

It used to be that members would be elected by the same majorities that elected governments which comprised the European Council and the Council of the EU and which chose the European Commission. MEPs were accountable to national political parties, whereas they are currently accountable to national citizens, theoretically in their capacity as European citizens. So it would be less EU-minded even than the current system.

The dual mandate would have reduced the incentive of MEPs to challenge the Councils or Commission, since they would be implicitly challenging people with a large degree of influence over their election, and it limited the time allocated to European Parliament business. I cannot think of how it would increase the Parliament's power?

[SPQR]

Indirectly-elected European Parliament?
What a nice way to tackle the issue of accountability concerning the EU!

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I'm only half serious. But it isn't as though the current setup is working. Unless you're on the gravy train, obviously.

[EPG]

To work, the Parliament needs more powers than anyone will give it, governments or voters alike. So it is a matter, as so often, of choosing the best way to fail...

[EPG]

Ireland is running local elections in 6-10 seat STV constituencies, so count staff will have plenty of work to do before, and after, the European votes get counted.

[doktorb]

Unless and until voters in, say, Ireland have exactly the same ballot papers as those in Latvia, I'd say this worry is complete balderdash.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

I think the upper house should be indirectly elected. Make it a few representatives of each member states legislature.

In the lower house I'd just force STV to promote individuals on everyone (so people might actually know the names of their MEP) and promote pan-European parties so people don't just punish S&D because they hate their Labour government, for example.

[EPG]

It's always going to be a second-order election (i.e. used to punish the government) as long as the European Parliament doesn't do anything important and comprehensible to people's lives. Give the Parliament an army and taxes and people might care, but nobody bar Guy wants that.

[Tender Branson]

Another poll today (Gallup):



NEOS loses 2% since their last poll.

Why ?

NEOS got clobbered the past week by SPÖ, ÖVP, FPÖ and Greens because NEOS has spoken out in favour of 2 really unpopular things:

* public water and waste management privatisation

* A European army, in which Austria dissolves it's own army that is then integrated into this European army system. Angelika Mlinar (NEOS-frontrunner) said (quite snobby) when asked who would be responsible for severe natural disasters: "Well, the firebrigade would need to do this alone."

Of course this will not be winning issues with Austrians, who strongly favour their army to help out when there are natural disasters.

Also, water privatisation is a big no-go, mostly because Austrians are happy with the way things are and don't want their water to be sold to foreign companies or want worse quality. The other parties quickly pointed out what would happen if water is privatized, saying that already happened in the UK, resulting in shi*ty water quality and high water prices (for UK posters, is this somehow accurate ?) ...

[EPG]

It completely depends - State-provided water quality in Ireland is mediocre, because the government doesn't invest money in supply, because it's ultimately not an electoral priority for any voter.

[freek]

I'd fully expect the UK, rather than the Netherlands, to publish their results in advance this time around, just to... troll the Commission, you know.

Dutch weblog GeenStijl started a campaign where people could apply to monitor the count in their local polling station, since polling stations by law have to announce their counting result after the count has finished, i.e. Thursday night.

The weblog intends to publish all these results directly after receiving them.

I have thought about applying, but I noticed that someone else already for applied for the polling station where I am volunteering during the day. I hope he/she turns up, it would be the first time in 5 years to have an observer during the count.

About 1,000 volunteers have already applied (there are ~10,000 polling stations).

http://www.geenstijl.nl/eu2014/map/

[Keystone Phil]

[SPQR]

Pathetic and false.
What to expect from former (?) fascists?

[Keystone Phil]

Pathetic and false.
What to expect from former (?) fascists?

The Alfano version was even more disturbing.

[justfollowingtheelections]

That's so stupid.  Renzi is if anything the anti-Merkel.

The only solution for the EU elections to become relevant is to have european parties on the ballots instead of national parties and the same election system in all countries.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Then no one would vote in them.

[justfollowingtheelections]

Then no one would vote in them.

In that case they should just get rid of the EU parliament.  But they shouldn't do that until they do elections with european parties first.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Then no one would vote in them.

In that case they should just get rid of the EU parliament.  But they shouldn't do that until they do elections with european parties first.

Abolishing the EU parliament would be a great idea as nobody cares about it. Your other idea is absurd for that very reason.

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

Which is why these debates for Commission President candidates are ridiculous. Much like local elections, the EP election is just a way for angry voters to show their dissatisfaction with the sitting governments of their nations.     

[Phony Moderate]

That replysive c**nt Fargae will win in my own backyard and us gays will be led to the gas cha,ber.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Which is why these debates for Commission President candidates are ridiculous. Much like local elections, the EP election is just a way for angry voters to show their dissatisfaction with the sitting governments of their nations.     

No, local elections are much more than that.

[justfollowingtheelections]

Then no one would vote in them.

In that case they should just get rid of the EU parliament.  But they shouldn't do that until they do elections with european parties first.

Abolishing the EU parliament would be a great idea as nobody cares about it. Your other idea is absurd for that very reason.

Well a parliament is supposed to be the voice of the people.  But for the people to have a voice you need to give them something to vote on.  If the European Union ever has a real european election with pan-european parties and the people still have no interest in the election, then sure, the parliament should be abolished.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Maybe it could be replaced with staggered national non-partisan election for 4 or so individuals to represent the country to the EU? Like the US Senate (in a very loose degree).