European elections 2014

[Papay]

Ok i open this thread because in less than two weeks we will have EU elections. EU elections were never as important as local parliamentary or presidential elections but they still are quite interesting since the whole Europe votes so you watch what all Europeans are thinking. Far right seems that it will score some quite good results while the leftist parties will have problems. So what exactly should we expect?

[Diglytron]

Lost my election pass. Wasn't going to vote anyway, democracy doesn't work.

[athanaric]

Wasn't going to vote anyway, democracy doesn't work.

I guess that's called recursive logic?

I'm swinging between pro-EU and anti-EU, maybe i give the mainstream parties a vote, maybe not (AfD or Left)

The SPD and CDU don't need your vote, they already have millions of pensioners voting for them purely out of habit. Given how these two parties come out on top in every election, I wonder how many people there are who actually don't know about the existence of any other parties. Either that, or they must be retarded.

[Jom]

In what way doesn't it work? And of course it won't work if you don't give a damn about it.

[Diglytron]

In what way doesn't it work? And of course it won't work if you don't give a damn about it.

Cause people are to ignorant to even bother to read what the parties want. Some last research in Holland proved that the only one's actually reading and informing theirselves well are the ones voting for the racist 'freedom party' which workes together with the French Fascists of Mary le Pen, with the Austrian Neo-Nazi's and with the Belgium 'White Power' party. They also state they want to significant decrease the amount of Muslims in Holland, with either forced deportations or with 'something else'.

Besides, European Elections don't even matter as we don't have any influence on who's get elected anyway. Although it would be hilarious if either Scultz or Verhofstad would become the new great leader.

I give a damn about it, and thats why I think democracy should be destroyed as fast as possible. Before ruining our planet and our civilisation any further.

[Mangalore]

...

Besides, European Elections don't even matter as we don't have any influence on who's get elected anyway. Although it would be hilarious if either Scultz or Verhofstad would become the new great leader.

...

In parliamentary democracies you rarely elect individuals to the executive, that's the parliament's job. With the EU parliament is the interesting thing that EU MPs make the challenge against the EU Council that it's the EU parliament that is to decide the EU commissioners and not just approve them. Something Schultz and apparently Juncker agree and kind of run for (being voted commission president) making statements that e.g. Merkel should not obstruct the suggestion of the majority leader in parliament by making an alternative suggestion.

What people have not really registered is that with the last reform treaties the EU parliament gained more and more powers of a proper parliament and if in this election they will force to be the guys to decide the executive branch like in a proper parliamentary democracy that would be quite a shift in powers and responsibilities within the EU.

Currently the EU Council is the dominating institution of the EU which is the main crux with its democratic defficiencies since you have a council of leaders of the executive branches of the national governments controlling multiple branches on the EU level while the EU parliament is the direct representative. It's as if the US Senate were the chamber to control most of the US policies and government.

[sleepyx732]

In what way doesn't it work? And of course it won't work if you don't give a damn about it.

Every election I've experienced there were only two potential winners.. out of 300+ million people. A republican and a democrat. Apparently the only ideologies out there. This would be the simpletons explanation.

[Flavius Julius Nepos Augustus]

We have the same day federal elections. I don't realy know who to vote in Europe probably NVA

[hellheaven1987]

It is first time I know Swiss and Norwegian are not Europeans.

[Denny Crane!]

UKIP are going to break the system open. Not necessarily a bad thing regardless of what you think of UKIP, though they are lowering the tone mind.

[6th Vigil]

The issue with voter turnout is a self-perpetuating problem as people don't believe that voting for the European Parliament makes any sort of impact upon the running of the EU, or they simply don't know enough about most European institutions, and the European Parliament struggles to gain more power unless it receives a more impressive democratic mandate. This is exemplified by the whole fuss over selecting the next President of the Commission via the Parliament itself which is not necessarily the case as the Lisbon treaty only specifies that heads of states must take the results of the elections into consideration. Both the UK and the German governments seem to have a preference for appointing their own candidates and that's all the opposition you need in order to prevent the wishes of the European Parliament.

I'll probably vote but like many others I'm uncertain who to vote for. I've been turned off UKIP by their focus on immigration, a clever election tactic no doubt, but that issue doesn't bother me particularly and just strikes me as scapegoating. Frankly, having seen a lot of the European party broadcasts on the issue has put me off quite a few of the prospective choices and I'd be surprised if voter turnout in the UK rises above 35%.

UKIP are going to break the system open. Not necessarily a bad thing regardless of what you think of UKIP, though they are lowering the tone mind.

I'm assuming you mean that UKIP, and other like minded parties, will provide a more authentic opposition to the largely identical mainstream parties currently dominating the European Parliament? I'm curious to know what you mean.

EDIT:

Seems the same function as a mid term election as the opinion poll on the current occupant in the White House.

^This is the best summary of how the elections stand in reality. A judgement upon incumbent parties across the EU member states, hence why UKIP is now the self-styled protest party.

[Mayer]

I give a damn about it, and thats why I think democracy should be destroyed as fast as possible. Before ruining our planet and our civilisation any further.

Funny, did you know that the from you so despised fascists had the same argument? The view that liberal democracy was flawed and should be replaced by faith in leaders?

However the 20th century as testfield of dictatorships offered more than enough evidence that such a unrestrained rule by a (few) individual(s) is neither efficient nor just, in fact it is just a return to absolutism and tribal despotism together with their arbitrariness and idiocy.
Therefore i firmly believe that the EU needs more democracy, not less.

And by the way, i sympathize with the right-wing opposition to islamism. I can't understand why we europeans should tolerate immigrants who don't allow basic freedoms to their own family members and want to force the sharia on others. Either you accept the western values on which Europe is founded,i.e. integrate or you have no place here.

[Ludicus]

...liberal democracy...

What is the difference between liberal democracy and democracy?
Edit, for the sake of clarification- Huntington has argued that the introduction of elections in non-Western societies may often lead to victory by antiliberal forces. So, which is preferable to you: liberal autocracies or illiberal democracies?

[Mayer]

What is the difference between liberal democracy and democracy?

The liberal interpretation of democracy is a representative system in which people can only vote politicians (more commonly parties) who in theory represent their interests. The alternative direct or participatory democracy allows people to decide policies directly.

Edit, for the sake of clarification- Huntington has argued that the introduction of elections in non-Western societies may often lead to victory by antiliberal forces. So, which is preferable to you: liberal autocracies or illiberal democracies?

I am a vicious collectivist, the latter of course :D

[Condottiere 40K]

Seems the same function as a mid term election as the opinion poll on the current occupant in the White House.

[Mayer]

I honestly don't know who to vote for. I used the 'Wahl-O-Mat' which is a german voting advice application but i was surprised at the results, the positions of the left were very right and the nationals very left and less anti-EU than the eurosceptics, thus all important parties have about 50-60% correspondence with my opinions..

[pajomife]

I will vote,because we need 700 guys in EU parliament.

[Ludicus]

Ok i open this thread because in less than two weeks we will have EU elections. EU elections were never as important ..So what exactly should we expect?

Nothing. "There is no alternative"

[pajomife]

Cause people are to ignorant to even bother to read what the parties want. Some last research in Holland proved that the only one's actually reading and informing theirselves well are the ones voting for the racist 'freedom party' which workes together with the French Fascists of Mary le Pen, with the Austrian Neo-Nazi's and with the Belgium 'White Power' party. They also state they want to significant decrease the amount of Muslims in Holland, with either forced deportations or with 'something else'.

Besides, European Elections don't even matter as we don't have any influence on who's get elected anyway. Although it would be hilarious if either Scultz or Verhofstad would become the new great leader.

I give a damn about it, and thats why I think democracy should be destroyed as fast as possible. Before ruining our planet and our civilisation any further.

I never heard about those parties.

[Greymane]

Ok i open this thread because in less than two weeks we will have EU elections. EU elections were never as important as local parliamentary or presidential elections but they still are quite interesting since the whole Europe votes so you watch what all Europeans are thinking. Far right seems that it will score some quite good results while the leftist parties will have problems. So what exactly should we expect?

It's basically that the further left you go on the political scale, the more problems parties seem to have.
I'm still hoping that the conservative centre will collapse, but that's not likely to happen.
Hoping for a victory of the left. They seem overall to be the most constructive and realistic regarding the EU, but indeed the extreme right is likely going to take the cake.
Voting for any of the traditional parties seems to be a vote for a federal Europe and that's the last thing I want, since the differences between the individual countries are already so large that the EU in it's current (mostly economic) for leads to problems. Just look to Greece. And to the rise of the extreme right everywhere.

Cause people are to ignorant to even bother to read what the parties want. Some last research in Holland proved that the only one's actually reading and informing theirselves well are the ones voting for the racist 'freedom party' which workes together with the French Fascists of Mary le Pen, with the Austrian Neo-Nazi's and with the Belgium 'White Power' party. They also state they want to significant decrease the amount of Muslims in Holland, with either forced deportations or with 'something else'.

Besides, European Elections don't even matter as we don't have any influence on who's get elected anyway. Although it would be hilarious if either Scultz or Verhofstad would become the new great leader.

I give a damn about it, and thats why I think democracy should be destroyed as fast as possible. Before ruining our planet and our civilisation any further.

The 'forced deportations' and 'something else' parts are not true (yet). The PVV just doesn't want to let anyone in anymore.
I even considered voting for them, for about 5 minutes that is. For the very simple reason that the left is not going to win anything and the EU in it's current form can only get worse.
I would rather not have a EU at all, then a federal one.
But then my common sense and distaste of the PVV policies regarding minorities took over again
So I'll be voting left (SP).

I never heard about those parties.

You have never heard of Front Nacional and the PVV?
Either you don't go out much, or the fact that party names were not mentioned confused you, or you just don't give a damn