The 2009 European Election in Italy: National or European?

In June 2009, European citizens voted in the European Parliamentary elections. Despite the relevance of the election, turnout across countries was particularly low. In Italy, too, abstention is growing and this paper aims to explain why. Traditionally, low turnout in European Parliamentary elections is explained by the fact that they are considered second-order elections and, thus, less important than national elections. According to this perspective, national factors are the main cause of lower turnout as compared to national elections. Thus, it is generally considered that low turnout is not related to citizens’ support for the European Union or other European attitudes, such as European identity. In this article, this perspective is questioned and other individual factors are considered. In particular, a number of European attitudes are considered as independent variables together with national factors. The findings show that abstention in European Parliamentary elections in Italy is directly linked to citizens’ disaffection with politics, rather than disaffection with government performance. Furthermore, attitudes toward the European Union integration project play a role only when the level of political involvement is high. Thus, European questions matter and turnout in European Parliamentary elections is driven not only by national-level factors, but also by citizens’ satisfaction with the European Union and sense of European identity

The news coverage of the 2004 European Parliamentary Election Campaign in 25 countries

This article analyzes the news coverage of the 2004 European Parliamentary\ud (EP) elections in all 25 member states of the European Union (EU). It\ud provides a unique pan-European overview of the campaign coverage based\ud on an analysis of three national newspapers and two television newscasts in\ud the two weeks leading up to the elections. On average, the elections were\ud more visible in the new 10 member states than in the 15 old EU member\ud states. The political personalities and institutional actors featured in news\ud stories about the elections were generally national political actors and not EU\ud actors. When it was evaluative, the news in the old EU-15 was generally\ud negative towards the EU, while in the new countries a mixed pattern was\ud found. The findings of the study are discussed in the light of the literature on\ud the EU’s legitimacy and communication deficit

Exit, Voice, and Cyclicality: A Micro-Logic of Voting Behaviour in European Parliament Elections

Unlike other classics of political economy, “Exit, Voice, and Loyalty” (EVL) has not sparked many innovations in the field of electoral studies. This paper aims to demonstrate that scholars miss out on a powerful theory of political behaviour by leaving Hirschman’s ideas to other disciplines. To change this, I resolve several theoretical complications that have hampered the application of EVL to democratic elections. On this basis, I construct a model of voting behaviour through the electoral cycle to explain typical “second-order” effects in elections to the European Parliament (EP). Building on the parameters of EVL allows to unite such diverse phenomena as anti-government swings, declining turnout, protest voting, conversion and alienation in one theoretical framework. Testing the model with survey data from the European Election Studies of 1999 and 2004 reveals novel insights into the dynamics at work in EP elections. The role of strategic voting in the form of voice appears to be limited. Instead, processes of de- and realignment in the form of exit dominate a picture of EP elections that undermines the widespread conception of second-order irrelevance

European Elections as Counterfactual National Elections

European Parliament elections affect a supra-national, European body. Nevertheless their outcomes are often interpreted as if they were national elections, with repercussion in the national political arena. Such a counterfactual representation, in which European parliamentary elections are presented as national parliamentary elections, forms the central perspective of this chapter. We model the influences of variations in turnout and variations in determinants of party choice for European Parliament and National Parliament elections, to determine what party characteristics influence the relative success or failure of political parties at European elections. The outcomes show that European electoral success is not only determined by party characteristics alone, but is also dependent upon the cycle of elections in the different countries

Posturing by Romania’s political parties ahead of December elections shows that they are not just competing for power, but for their own survival

This month has seen massive rallies for Romania’s political parties ahead of parliamentary elections in December, with the European People’s Party holding its congress and the ruling USL alliance hosting an 80,000 strong rally. Clara Volintiru looks at this political posturing between the rival factions of the President and Prime Minister, and argues that these rallies ignore the general political disenchantment of most Romanians, and that there is a real risk of significant voter apathy come the December elections

Continuity and change in party positions towards Europe in Italian parties: an examination of parties' manifestos

This paper analyses Italian parties' manifestos for national and European elections from 1979 to 1999 with the 'Wordscore' programme in order to gauge whether party positions with regard to the European Union have changed and whether the salience of the European Union has increased. Results indicate that, although there is no sign of increased salience, the leading Italian political parties have repositioned themselves in their attitudes towards the European Union, indicating that the European political space matters for national parties

European emergency coordination. ZEI Discussion Paper C259 2020

The European elections in 2019 sent two messages. Firstly, Europe is stronger than what its opponents thought it would be. Despite major challenges like Brexit and migration, the results of the election demonstrated strong European cohesion. Therefore, Europe was the true winner of the elections. Secondly, citizens demand a more proactive, responsive and accountable Union that provides concrete answers to major challenges, such as adaptation to climate change, sustainable growth, clean energy or social cohesion. Both, the new Commission and the Parliament got the message. They have committed to work more for a greener, more inclusive and more competitive Union. A Union that is there for their citizens and for the rest of the world. A Europe of solidarity and humanity

Infospective on the European Elections and the European Parliament. EU Centre Singapore Background Brief No. 12, May 2014

With the 2014 European Elections just round the corner, the EU Centre has published an infospective (Background Brief 12) by Devi Shree Malarvanan and Dexter Lee (EU Centre in Singapore) entitled “Infospective on the European Elections and the European Parliament” This infospective covers the history of the European Parliament, highlighting the legislative powers that Parliament has since the 1960s. It also covers the issues and results of the previous 7 European elections, and will feature a sneak peak of the upcoming 2014 European Elections which will be held later in May