Monday, May 26, 2014

Anti-establishment parties claim big wins in European parliamentary vote --- LONDON — Voters across Europe delivered a stinging rebuke to the political establishment in parliamentary elections Sunday, boosting formerly fringe parties to key wins and giving some of the European Union’s staunchest critics a prominent voice in the body’s future. -- Parties from the center-left and the center-right managed to maintain their majority in the 751-member European Parliament and will continue to hold sway for the next five years. But the strong showing by anti-E.U. parties reflected widespread anger toward mainstream politicians and the appeal of populists at either end of the spectrum, particularly the far right. -- Parties hostile toward the European Union were projected to come out on top in countries including Britain, Denmark, France and Greece. Continent-wide, they could be on pace to double their haul of parliamentary seats compared with the last election, in 2009. -- “The people have spoken loud and clear,” a jubilant Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front, told cheering supporters after winning the French vote on a stridently anti-immigration message. “They no longer want to be led by those outside our borders, by E.U. commissioners and technocrats who are unelected. They want to be protected from globalization and take back the reins of their destiny.” -- At stake in Sunday’s vote was the direction of Europe at a time when it is convalescing after four years of social and economic crisis. -- Although the European Parliament has considerably less power than national governments in determining the direction of the 28-member union, its authority has been growing. --- Among the issues on the agenda for the new Parliament will be the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, a trade deal between the United States and Europe that the Obama administration has made a priority of the president’s second term. Far-left and far-right parties in Europe have been highly critical of the proposed agreement. -- The new Parliament also will have a say in electing Jose Manuel Barroso’s successor as president of the European Commission, the top job in the E.U. -- Results released Sunday night suggested that the center-right faction — the European People’s Party — would win more seats than any other. That would put it in prime position to advance its candidate, Jean-Claude Juncker, a senior diplomat from Luxembourg and one of the European Union’s leading elder statesmen. -- But for Juncker to get the job, the center-right is likely to need help from the center-left to overcome opposition on the extremes. -- Despite the considerable stakes, the European campaign was marked by apathy, and turnout matched the record low set five years ago, at 43 percent. -- Mainstream parties struggled to generate enthusiasm with their message of a more closely integrated union bound by common laws and open borders. Instead, the focus of the campaign was on the backlash and fears that integration has perhaps gone further than many Europeans want. - More, Washingtonpost

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