The EU election becomes gigantic public opinion survey!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

On Sunday 7^th June the Swedish public will head to the election booths again. This time it is not about who will rule Sweden but instead which Swedish Members of European Parliament (PEM) will be sent to the EU Parliament in Brussels and Strasbourg.

Sweden is not the only country to vote on this day. In total 375 million citizens of EU’s 27 member states are entitled to vote in the election that elects 736 PEMs, whereof 18 come from Sweden.

Although we are not electing a government or a prime minister the election can be significant for Swedish national politics. Partly because of next year’s Parliament election, and partly because the election results can give an indication of Swedish public opinion preferences in terms of the two governmental alternatives – the ruling blue allied party and the red-green opposition.

In 2004 seven Swedish parliament parties including Junilistan, were represented in the EU Parliament. In the current election additional parties The Pirate Party, Feminist Initiative and The Swedish Democrats are in the running.

The latest Sifo public survey of the election result shows evidence that the Pirate Party may get one or more representatives this year, whilst Junilistan risk losing their MEP.

What is the EU election about?

Formally the election is about selecting 18 MEPs to send to Brussels and Strasbourg. However as the option of selecting personal candidates is considerably larger in this election compared to other Swedish elections and as voters are not as loyal to their traditional parties or main stream parties the election can offer significant surprises. In the last election – 2004 – the big surprise was the newly formed party Junilistan which became the third largest party.

The number of voters is significantly smaller. In 2004 37.9 per cent of eligable voters partook in the election. This year’s election indicates that less than 40 per cent of eligible voters, which is far less than the number of persons that normally vote in Swedish elections will go to the voting booths.

What are the major differences between the parties?

Evident differences between the major parties do not exist. All parties speak of the need to cooperate in saving the environment and concentrate on climate issues.

The Social Democrats wants to phase out EU’s agricultural subsidiaries in order to afford more joint investments in educations and infrastructure.
The Moderaterna Party however highlights the immigration policy and the struggle against organised crime. The Liberal Party repeate the demands for a joint currency even though this is not a question for the EU Parliament but for each respective country’s government.

An interesting factor which has become evident following the last public opinion survey is the question if the Social Democrats will remain as the largest political party, a strong hold they have held since the beginning of the 20^th century. Some surveys indicate that the Moderaterna have caught up with the Social Democrats.

The first important question for the newly elected EU Parliament when they gather at the end of the summer is to approve the new EU Commission. A commission which will be suggested after many and long negotiations between the 27 state leaders, lead by Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt.

For the people of Swedish the EU election on 7^th June will still be a gigantic public opinion survey of the coming Parliament election in 2010. For the Government is it a good indication in the Swedish public’s interest in EU prior to Sweden taking over as President of the EU 23 days following the election day.