Elections and parties
IMAGO/Pacific Press Agency
Although European elections are traditionally considered as being second-order in nature, it is quite clear that at least those of 2024 have had a clear first-order impact in several European countries, with the snap national elections in France and the subsequent formation of the New Popular Front by the progressive parties being the most prominent example of this.
Greece is no exception here. Of course, it is not uncommon for European elections to have a clear national character, for example with respect to the electoral agenda and the ...
read more "Second-Order Elections with a First-Order Impact"
read more "Second-Order Elections with a First-Order Impact"
The political systems in Cyprus — both on a party level and as a whole — have undergone continuous changes over recent years. The most significant shifts include the declining electoral and political influence of traditional parties over the past 10–15 years and the rise in voter abstention.
These changes are better understood as part of a continuum rather than a sudden break from the past, characterized by both continuities and discontinuities as well as back-and-forth and zig-zag movements. Moreover, these developments should be viewed as ...
read more "Twists and Turns amidst Continuity"
read more "Twists and Turns amidst Continuity"
IMAGO/CTK Photo
In the Czech Republic, elections to the European Parliament are among the least popular with voters. In 2014, turnout was 18.2 percent, and in 2019, it was 28.7 percent. Surveys for this year estimate it will be somewhere between 20 and 30 percent.
This means that the European elections are mainly the arena of highly motivated, i.e., ideological voters. Thus, European issues themselves are always partly themes of domestic politics, which is also reflected in the three main issues that dominate the current political debate.
A Growing Cancer
The ...
read more "Czech Politics and the European Elections"
read more "Czech Politics and the European Elections"
Flicker / KPÖ
If you ask a random passer-by on the streets of Salzburg what sets the Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) apart, they will probably have quite a bit to say — regardless of whether they vote for the KPÖ or not.
read more "Setting Ourselves Apart"
read more "Setting Ourselves Apart"
IMAGO/ZUMA Wire
The European Parliament elections on 9 June will be the third nationwide elections to take place in Poland in eight months. They are expected to set the course for the 2025 presidential elections and will serve as an important test of whether the new coalition of the liberal Koalicja Obywatelska (Civic Coalition), the conservative Trzecia Droga (Third Way), and the social democratic Nowa Lewica (New Left) can maintain their hold on government in the long term.
read more "The EU Elections in Poland"
read more "The EU Elections in Poland"
IMAGO/Nik Erik Neubauer
Since joining the European Union in 2004, Slovenia has consistently exhibited one of the lowest voter turnouts in European elections. Indeed, statistics reveal that in 2019, only the Czech Republic (28.72 percent) and Slovakia (24.74 percent) recorded lower turnouts than Slovenia’s 28.89 percent.
Remarkably, voter participation in Slovenia has never surpassed one-third of eligible voters, meaning that a sizable portion of the populace — nearly 1.2 million individuals in a nation with 1.7 million registered voters — consistently abstain from ...
read more "Slovenia’s Political Pendulum Swings Back"
read more "Slovenia’s Political Pendulum Swings Back"
IMAGO/Lehtikuva
As the European Parliament elections this June draw nearer, the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation is conducting a series of interviews with left-wing parties and candidates from across the EU on the election campaign, their political programmes, and the challenges facing left-wing forces domestically and at a European level. The foundation’s Duroyan Fertl spoke to Li Andersson, leader of the Finnish Left Alliance, Vasemmistoliitto, about her party’s priorities in this super election year.
read more "Opposing Finland’s Thatcherist Turn"
read more "Opposing Finland’s Thatcherist Turn"
IMAGO/Alberto Gardin
In the Spanish State, all indicators seem to point in the same direction: we are coming to the end of a cycle, in which what has been called the “Space for Change” is in retreat and even disappearing in many regions. Significant internal disagreements within the Left, right-wing and far-right parties committed to propagating fake news and stoking tensions, and a social democracy that has been neglected for years have all come together to create a society divided by media and discursive polarization, and the disaffection of the majority of citizens.
read more "Low Expectations for Spain’s Divided Left"
read more "Low Expectations for Spain’s Divided Left"
Quentin Bruno / The Left
As the European Parliament elections this June draw nearer, the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation is conducting a series of interviews with left-wing parties and candidates from across the EU on the election campaign, their political programmes, and the challenges facing left-wing forces domestically and at a European level. The foundation’s Duroyan Fertl spoke to Frederikke Hellemann, second on the list for Danish Left-Green Alliance, or Enhedslisten, about the Danish Left’s priorities in this super election year.
read more "“Back to Basics”"
read more "“Back to Basics”"
IMAGO/Photo News
(German) In Belgien finden die Wahlen zum Europäischen Parlament wieder im Schatten der nationalen Parlaments- und Regionalwahlen statt, somit dürfte auch mit ähnlichen Ergebnissen zu rechnen sein. Wird die belgische Arbeiterpartei PTB nach diesem Superwahljahr ihren Schwung beibehalten können?
read more "The Inexorable Rise of the Belgian Workers’ Party"
read more "The Inexorable Rise of the Belgian Workers’ Party"