European Elections: Left Takes a Big Hit
The results for the this week’s elections in European are in. Well, some of them, at least. The conclusion: Labor lost big.
Let’s start with the local elections in Britain, after which we’ll spend some time to the elections for the European Parliament.
In Britain Labor was dealt a major blow:
Gordon Brown was dealt another huge blow last night when Labour lost all its remaining county councils in its worst ever local election results.
Counties turned from red to blue in quick succession as the Labour vote collapsed in its heartlands. Hundreds of councillors lost their seats and their share of the vote fell to 23 per cent…
With results still pouring in yesterday evening, Labour had lost more than 300 councillors and was at risk of disappearing entirely in some southern counties.
Interestingly enough, most ‘of those counties had been held by Labor for nearly 30 years.’
The Tories were obviously delighted with the results:
“Labour have been wiped off the electoral map in key battleground areas,” Eric Pickles, the Tory chairman, said as his party looked set to win well over 250 seats. “We now have a lame-duck Prime Minister running a lame-duck Government. The country clearly wants change and the only way that can be delivered is through the general election.”
What happened in Britain is this: Labor destroyed the country’s economy, and voters are no longer falling for Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s spin.
Additionally, although Brown et al. tell voters they will have to get by with a little bit less, a scandal erupted recently involving Members of Parliament who had robbed tax payers for years. Although this controversy certainly damaged the Tories as well, Labor suffered most because, well, there simply are more Labor than Tory MP’s, and because the former were behaved even less responsible than the latter.
In the Netherlands, the Labor PvdA party went down from seven to three seats in the European Parliament. It was the worst result in history for Dutch laborites. The party’s elites are panicking. They don’t know what hit them. Thursday’s elections should have been reasonably good for them: they were counting on as many as five seats. That would have been two less than five years ago, sure, but it would have been considered a very reasonably result nonetheless.
Not so. Dutch voters rejected the party outright. They no longer trust it. The obvious conclusion: they are not happy with the way Labor – who is a member of the coalition government – dealt with the economic crisis, and they believe the party to be too soft on immigration and integration.
Unsurprisingly, the winner of the elections in the Netherlands: Geert Wilders, the controversial MP, who criticizes immigrants for their religious practices, perceived lack of integration, and their cultural background in general continuously. These are good times to be a (perceived) rightist rebel, and Wilders knows it.
If Wilders’ popularity endures, he will, sadly for him, face serious problems with regards to his economic policies. Although American conservatives often call the man with the dyed hair a ‘conservative’ as well, he is anything but. He is only conservative on cultural issues. Well, on immigration and integration, that is (he’s pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage, but extremely critical of Muslim immigrants and Islam). Other than that, he’s pretty liberal, especially on issues related to the economy - voters do not realize that yet, but they may in the coming years. If so, I predict that his popularity will decrease significantly, especially among center-right voters who have lost faith in the traditional right-of-center VVD party.
The Wall Street Journal summarizes the situation in the whole of Europe:
The economic recession should have meant easy votes for Europe’s left-wing movements, longtime critics of unchecked capitalism.
Yet as Europe goes to the polls, left-leaning parties across the continent are looking likely to falter. That’s true both for those in government, such as in the U.K. and Spain [and the Netherlands], and in the opposition — such as France, Germany and Italy.
To summarize: European voters realize that not American capitalism, nor free markets, but progressive, leftist policies are to blame for today’s severe economic crisis. Capitalism and free markets were declared dead alright, but not by voters but by journalists, most of whom are socialists.
Europeans believe that Labor is not able to deal with today’s problems – terrorism, immigration, economy, health care – and are turning their backs on leftist parties in droves. It’s time, Europeans think, to hand over the reigns over power to (perceived) conservatives, who seem more willing and able to take on modern society’s major issues.
The other results for the EU elections will be announced tomorrow (Sunday): quite some member states still have to hold them, and it is actually not allowed to announce the results before all votes, in every single member state, are counted, which is the reason Brussels is extremely angry with The Hague (the Netherlands): the Dutch government immediately announced the results.
Excellent article and your summary is exactly correct, “European voters realize that not American capitalism, nor free markets, but progressive, leftist policies are to blame for today’s severe economic crisis. Capitalism and free markets were declared dead alright, but not by voters but by journalists, most of whom are socialists.”
The crisis of the European Left has very little to do with the economy. Labour would’ve blown to bits even if the economy would’ve remained stable and healthy.
The Left loses supports because it is not able to formulate a coherent vision on the integration of non-Western muslim minorities into society. Beyond that, there is the disappearance of the working class which strongly supported the Left in its rise to power.
Rutger: I definitely think it’s both. Look at how the public responded to Bos’ (Dutch Treasure Secretary) plans for the economy. Bailing out the big banks, etc. wasn’t a popular thing to do.
And yes, integration plays a major role – I try to make that clear in my post. But it’s not ‘just’ integration. There’s more to it than that.
Thanks Deb.
So basicly is Geert Wilders a left wing ex-VVD member with right wing views on immigration etc.
I think it’s pretty clear he is, Isser. He has a lot in common with the Socialist Party – which is why it’s rather ironic that the two attack each other frequently.
Having said that, many voters haven’t figured that out yet. If the VVD wants to win it has to do two things:
1. Be tough on immgration and integration, but on an individual rather than collective basis
2. Show voters that Wilders’ economic policies are leftwing
Make Wilders join a debate first.
LOL, true enough
It’ll be fun, actually, a debate like that. Every time immigration is touched upon, the VVD will agree, more or less, with Wilders (albeit in a less radical and disrespectful way), but when it comes to the economy, the VVD leader will wipe the floor with ‘em.
Economic crisis means trouble for whoever is in power. The left was in power when the crisis hit and so it is the left that suffered at the polls. People should be cautious about reading too much more into this than that.
“The Left loses supports because it is not able to formulate a coherent vision on the integration of non-Western muslim minorities into society.”
I agree, even though I think this isn’t a strong reason to not support them, especially considering the general ideation of the right on this issue is also terribly weak and vague. If one is worried about negative side-effects of immigration, I can’t think of one side that deserves one’s support.
“European voters realize that not American capitalism, nor free markets, but progressive, leftist policies are to blame for today’s severe economic crisis. Capitalism and free markets were declared dead alright, but not by voters but by journalists, most of whom are socialists.”
Sitting here on my blimp, watching a hippo fly by against the green backdrop of a dual sunset, I must say this is a very apt description of the world.
Meanwhile, I still think that the political sides both in America and Europe are far too similar to be able to shift responsibility entirely, and I also think you’ll agree that globalization and right-wing theories on international economics have been dominant for a while. I fail to see how the loathsome progressives could have messed up the current situation, and I also can’t see how a general right-wing approach could be of any help.
James Cameron, as an example, is truly an ideological hack, willing to embrace economic theories that have been tried and found wanting by right-wingers before him. Even Bush the elder has called Cameron’s ideas – which include the Laffer curve, drawn on a napkin by a derided and discredited “economist” booted from teh Nixon administration – “voodoo economics”. The truth is that, at least in America, cutting the top rate of taxes is bad for the economy while raising it is good for the economy. Cameron will espouse any theory, no matter how discredited or incompatible with reality, as long as it allows him to lower the taxes of his ilk. He is as credible and useful in economic matters as Guevara, but the British media has learned to agree with the right’s own version of political correctness and presents him as a regular guy, someone you’d want to have a beer with. History tells me those kind of politicians should be launched into the sun.
In a country like Sweden, were there is wide agreement on the general outlines of the economic model and the level of support we should offer the needy, I have no problem voting for a center-right party if they argue their case. Even more so if there aren’t any disgusting and plebeian social conservative agendas snuggling up to the economic right-wingers.
One can only hope this is a sign of what is to come for the 2010 midterm elections in the United States.
What, that a bunch of far-right wackos make huge gains? The only losing side in the elections was the left, but there were no real winners, especially considering the gains made by emotional and divisive lumpen who tell jews to “play with their circumcised little tails” (Krisztina Morvai) or think you can say whatever you want about Romes and Muslims just because you’re feeling scared and resentful in general. Actually, there was a winning side – green parties. I’m guessing we’ll be rounding up car owners and CEOs pretty soon if the prophecies are true*.
As for America, I wouldn’t mind seeing right-wing gains in the elections, provided the right wing in America wasn’t represented by the GOP in its current state.
*They’re not.
Actually, calling them far-right is not fair on the right-wing side of European politics considering many of the parties are so obsessively anti-immigrant that they’ll take on any set of political positions that mesh with their goals and sad little dreams, left-wing or not.
Jeb: “whomever is in power.” Not true: the leftist opposition also lost. Countries where the left was in the government: left lost. Countries where the left was in the opposition: left lost.
Ireland, Greece, Spain, Bulgaria, Hungary, Germany: government parties had poor results. Not so in Poland, Italy and Luxembourg. Sarkozy’s party also remained strong.
Apart from this, the effects will not be great considering the lack of any block falling behind or passing by another. The anti-immigrant/nationalist/anti-immigration are worrying but didn’t make as much headway as the greens.
I’ve been trying to educate myself on the reasons for these election results. People here in the states are either ignorant or uninterested. My question is does this affect the U.S. in any significant way? Is the center right in Europe farther left than the center right in America? If so, are the results in this election in in any way a precursor to what may happen in our midterm elections next year?