Some of this is not new. We British are among the most ignorant members of the EU when it comes to understanding what it is about, what it really does and what are the benefits of being in it. At one level there is a steady drumbeat of made up or misinterpreted nonsense from the newspapers -- EU want your bananas to be straight, EU says you can't say Miss or Mrs anymore, Lollipop Ladies to be banned etc. On the other there are the politicians, either having a Victorian hallucination about what Britain is in the modern world or using the EU as a nice excuse for anything they want to do but know will upset their voters.
The result is the European Parliament elections are never about the EU unless is it someone demanding that we get out. Take a look at Labour's TV commercials (which don't even mention Europe) or even the misleading handouts of the pro-EU Liberal Democrats as brought to light here by blogger Adrian Short.
It is even worse this time because of the unbelievable scandal over MP's expenses. Labour, already unpopular because of the recession and whatever number of years it is of fairly appalling management, is going to get thumped. But the Tories are by no means shining in this scandal and have just reminded voters who they are by claiming expenses for things like moat cleaning. The LibDems have unfortunately gone back to being ineffectual.
This means that very few British voters will even consider Europe when they vote and may turn to the likes of the secessionist UKIP and -- horribly -- the far right BNP to punish the bounders who run this place.
In the old days, this might not have mattered beyond being embarrassing. That was when the European Parliament was a powerless talking shop. But it isn't any more. It has real clout and shares many legislative powers with other EU institutions. More importantly, it oversees these institutions and it the only directly democratic body the EU has.
It is no place to send people because you want to punish someone else or because you don't think it is important. Please don't.
I've also noticed the lack of any mention of Europe in the party election broadcasts. They just seem to be ads for the party leaderships, perhaps to the extent of avoiding even selling the party.
ReplyDeleteIn Ireland it's a bit better - polls are showing that the anger at the government (89% dissatisfaction) isn't necessarily translating into bashing the government parties at the European elections (Fianna Fáil is predicted to loose only 1 seat, though this could be due to the lack of seats to loose - they've 4 at the moment). I wouldn't say that's because there's a pan-European campaign that mitigates it, but the 3-seat STV system gives voters the chance to vote on candidates on their own merits.
As for UKIP and the BNP - it seems very unpredictable; I keep hearing different things. First UKIP is falling apart, then it could do well. The BNP is in danger of getting a seat, but then again maybe it's still a long way off. Have there been any reports in their support levels since the sandal broke?