European elections: how important are they for citizens?
In around two weeks’ time voters from the 27 EU member states will elect a new European Parliament. Commentators stress the importance of the elections in view of an expected shift to the right and look at how more people could be persuaded to go out and vote.
A decisive moment
De Standaard says certain key questions need to be answered:
“Europe sets the framework within which the majority of national legislation is shaped. Migration, climate, international trade, competition policy, agriculture, nature. ... And above all the question of how to deal with the Trojan horses within Europe that want to dismantle some of the EU’s liberal foundations. ... According to the polls, the liberal and green groups will almost certainly lose heavily in favour of the conservative and far-right groups. But for the time being it is still unclear with which orientation these groups will re-enter parliament. ... Will the right-wing conservatives move towards the centre or will the Christian Democrats become more right-wing?”
Parties targeting non-voters
Phileleftheros looks at the impact of abstention:
“The parties are now targeting those who are unlikely to vote. ... They’re trying every tactic they can think of, from videos on Tiktok and other social networks to personal appeals to persuade voters to go out and vote. ... It’s hard to say which parties will benefit from abstention. Over the years, however, it has become clear that non-participation in elections tends to have a negative impact on left-wing parties. It may also benefit far-right parties because their voters are more likely to exercise their right to vote. Whether the hunt for couch voters works will become clear the day after the election, when we know who has voted.”
Better to use the carrot
At just under 29 percent, voter turnout in the Czech Republic for the last European elections was among the lowest in Europe, Mladá fronta dnes complains, and looks at ways to increase participation:
“What about introducing compulsory voting, as former President Miloš Zeman long advocated? In Belgium, Italy and elsewhere in Europe, compulsory voting is enshrined in law and citizens face fines if they don’t vote. However, these countries have not had the historical experience of the ‘duty’ to vote that we had under socialism. But how about a tax write-off for those who vote in elections, as is the case for blood donors? Rather than penalties, it would be better to offer a small reward.”
