2009 European Parliamentary Elections Thread

[PowerWizard]

Elections to the European Parliament will be held in the 27 member states of the EU in June. 736 Members of the European Parliament will be elected by proportional representation to represent some 500,000,000 Europeans, making these the biggest trans-national elections in history.

Which party would you vote for and why? What do you think will be the main agenda of the campaign?

Official website:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/elections2009/default.htm

Other useful links:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7819889.stm
http://www.euractiv.com/en/eu-elections/european-elections-outlook-2009/article-174694
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Parliament_election,_2009
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_political_party#The_Europarties

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

You know that pro-Europeans are idealists when...[check the poll results on their website]

~;)

It is unfortunate that Libertas didn't get the required number of signatures to run. As a result, I think I will be voting for Die Republikaner. My second choice, the FDP, is too different from me in regards to pro-Europeanism.

[Tribesman]

It is unfortunate that Libertas didn't get the required number of signatures to run.
Why is it unfortunate?
Don't believe Ganleys hype about his campaign securing the no vote in the last referendum

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Why is it unfortunate?

Check out the Eurosceptic alternatives in Germany and you'll see why.

[Tribesman]

Check out the Eurosceptic alternatives in Germany and you'll see why.
So because you have a lot of pillocks in Germany you want to import a pillock :dizzy2:

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

So because you have a lot of pillocks in Germany you want to import a pillock :dizzy2:

On a relative basis between the NPD, DVU, and Die Linke, I think that he is at least marginally less of a pillock.

[Louis VI the Fat]

Which party would you vote for and why?MoDem.

Which is part of the PDE (http://www.pde-edp.net/main/_pde/index.jsp). This combines several radical centrist movements. Radical, as opposed to established.


What do you think will be the main agenda of the campaign?That the EU is a fascist, simultanously communist, evil superstate.

Outside of the internetosphere, where debate is not dominated by infantilodytes, the campaign will revolve around, I think, the financial crisis, globalisation, ecology. And, especially, the question of relevance of the EU - there is much Euroscepticism, even amongst the serious segment of the electorate.

[Louis VI the Fat]

The agenda of the campaign will revolve around the subjects above, and Rosé.

War of the Rosé (http://bordeaux-undiscovered.blogspot.com/2009/03/row-over-rose-france-v-eu.html). :furious3::knight::furious3:


The AFP has reported that winegrowers in France's Provence region are furious over European Union plans to let producers make rosé by mixing red and white wine saying this risks destroying a local tradition and could lead to tens of thousands of job losses.

It has adopted a draft trade ruling, to be put to the vote by EU members next month, that would allow wine merchants to mix red with a splash of white, and bottle the result as rosé.White and red wine does not rosé make. Bunch of philistines. :wall:

You can't throw a glass plate and some electric cables in a box and sell it as a television, can you? Or put a pattern on a shawl and call it 'Burberry'. Or glue a tristar on a soapbox with wheels and sell it as a 'Mercedes Car'. You'd be send to jail for fraud.

[Joooray]

I guess I will vote for the Green Party, they are just the party that represents my views the best.

BTW: Here is something that might help some people decide, or at least see where they stand: EUProfiler (http://euprofiler.eu/)

[Kralizec]

The AFP has reported that winegrowers in France's Provence region are furious over European Union plans to let producers make rosé by mixing red and white wine saying this risks destroying a local tradition and could lead to tens of thousands of job losses.

It has adopted a draft trade ruling, to be put to the vote by EU members next month, that would allow wine merchants to mix red with a splash of white, and bottle the result as rosé.

Isn't that already happening now? And they're only doing it because it's the only legal way for non-French vineries to produce and sell it, for some reason.

[Strike For The South]

Dear God, Does Europe know no other color besides blue?

[Kadagar_AV]

wait....

Don't we vote for our own national partys, and they then send representatives?

I have no idea what the partys in the poll stand for!

Also, as I have doubble citizenship, can I vote two times? Once in Austria, once in Sweden?

[FactionHeir]

I checked it for both UK and Germany as I am eligible for either. My views don't border any of the German parties, but they seem rather inclusive of the Tories here...


https://img407.imageshack.us/img407/9659/96263988.jpg


What's a bit more scary is that when I then checked it towards the further away parties, my positions seem to more or less (on the right side of the circle diagram anyway) overlap the UKIP ones. Wouldn't vote for them though.

Still the diagram didn't quite reflect what I expected to see. I would personally have viewed it as a bit less on the environmental side and a lot more on the law and order side. I didn't put any emphasis on the terror question though because IMO its no big deal (guess that comes with being a minority and therefore not being the big target) while grading the harsher punishments as very important - I think laws are currently too lax in general.

Overall still unsure which one to vote for. The closest EU one seems to be the Austrian Future Party or somesuch.

[Joooray]

wait....

Don't we vote for our own national partys, and they then send representatives?

I have no idea what the partys in the poll stand for!

Also, as I have doubble citizenship, can I vote two times? Once in Austria, once in Sweden?

True, you vote for your own national parties, but those are organized in kind of "party consortiums" on an european level. And those are what you can vote for here.

Voting twice would be nice ~;), but as far as I know you can only vote at the place of your permanent residence.

@Strike:
The Blue is nice, isn't it. :yes: Sorry we can't afford as many colors as you over there. ~;)

[Furunculus]

I will vote conservative, and await with anticipation the fruition of the formed from the Movement for European Reform:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movement_for_European_Reform

[Tribesman]

Isn't that already happening now? And they're only doing it because it's the only legal way for non-French vineries to produce and sell it, for some reason.

Rose is produced all over the world using the same methods as the french wineries , the french are objecting because frankly the "rose" produced by blending red and white is pretty crap . then again a lot of french wines are crap anway

[Furunculus]

that's because they only export the crap.

great way to maintain an international brand i know, but its their choice.

in ten years time france may not be known as a great wine-producing nation by people outside france anymore.

[Louis VI the Fat]

Rose is produced all over the world using the same methods as the french wineries , the french are objecting because frankly the "rose" produced by blending red and white is pretty crap . Painting water white does not make milk. Injecting chicken meat with red paint does not make beef. Painting white wine pink with red wine does not make rosé. :wall:

Rosé is the product of red grapes. Occasionally from red mixed with white grapes during the production process. Never, never, of a mixture of red and white wine. :wall:

Everybody is allowed to make rosé, of any quality. Rosé is not a protected regional product or brand. This is about product product labelling. Rosé can never be a mix of white and red wine. That is not rosé. One can not mix pork with soya into meatballs and label it '100% meat'. That is fraud. Likewise, one can not label any pink alcoholic mixdrink 'rosé' if it isn't. That is fraud.

The outrage here is that consumer fraud is legalized. Consumers are being swindled. By all means, mix your red and white wines into any combination liked by your consumers. But be honest about it and put it on your label. Consumers have a right to know what is in the product they buy.

Actually, no, the outrage is that consumers don't even understand that they are being swindled. And the outrage is that the story is too difficult to explain to EU technocrats.

[Louis VI the Fat]

1) that's because they only export the crap.

2) great way to maintain an international brand i know, but its their choice.

3) in ten years time france may not be known as a great wine-producing nation by people outside france anymore. 1) This is nonsense. Alas, the reverse of this nonsense is heard in France as well: the best wines are allegedly exported, leaving only the lesser wines for the domestic market. Neither nonsense, of course, is true. Wines are sold to the highest bidder, like all other products. A vinery from Bordeaux does not sell his products to Paris for 10 Euro a bottle when he can fetch 20 from a Canadian bidder.

I must assure you that great quality French wines are exported to connaisseurs the world over. The reverse holds true as well - Australia, California, Argentina, Chile produce great wines for global consumers. Wine lovers use their tastebuds, not their national prejudices. Obviously the trend will continue that the New World producers will increase their market share. Wine growing is not a secret procedure. It is a craft like all others. If you've got the climate and soil, then you can produce good wine. Like the production side, the consumption side is international as well. America has more wine lovers than France. And the better experts too. This is not a problem, this is a blessing. There can't be enough good wine in the world.


2) France, as so often, is on the vanguard of protecting the quality of European luxury products. One of the few succesful European export categories to Asia. The whole of Europe benefits from the enormous French investments in research and legal protection. Everybody with any knowledge about wine, the world over, knows what France is going on about here. So the French rosé 'brand' is being tremendously strenghtened by all this - wine lovers know that they can rely on France to sell them only the real thing. Unlike those swindlers from elsewhere. :smug:


3) I predict that in ten years time European producers will demand that they can bottle sparkly yellow urine from bulls with with mad cows disease and label it 'beer', with half the internets insisting on automatic pilot that the EU shouldn't listen to silly French objections. I also predict that in ten years time, in a hundred years time, France will still be known as a great wine producer to connaisseurs the world over. We produce only what is authentic. Because we snub at fraud and catering to the lowest common denominator. Philistines not served here if it were up to me. Let them call it arrogance, I call it maintaining quality to ensure that the educated segment of the market will always receive the sublime quality they demand of the brand 'France'.


https://img145.imageshack.us/img145/7480/vin.gif (https://img145.imageshack.us/my.php?image=vin.gif)


I had great hope indeed that this subject would reverse the roles: the anti-EU crowd cheering for EU regulation, and me opposing it...~;)

[Tribesman]

Rosé is the product of red grapes. Occasionally from red mixed with white grapes during the production process. Never, never, of a mixture of red and white wine.
Did you notice the ...Rose ...."rose" ?

[Louis VI the Fat]

Did you notice the ...Rose ...."rose" ?No and nor will I let it interfere with me having a good ol' rant. ~;)

I will maintain that you are all evil, gallophobe phillistines and I am not open to reason about this. :smash:

[drone]

And here I thought rose was bottled from the buckets in the tasting room...

[Louis VI the Fat]

Why levy taxes on hard-working Europeans when you can let evil foreigners pay for your fancy subsidies? :pirate2:


Mighty Europe (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8047546.stm) strikes fear in the hearts and wallets of its adversaries again - just in time for the elections.

Computer chipmaker Intel has been fined a record 1.06bn euros ($1.45bn; £948m) by the European Commission for anti-competitive practices.

It dwarfs the 497m euro fine levied on Microsoft in 2004 for abusing its dominant market position.

What shall we spend the money on? :beam:

[KukriKhan]

Ms Kroes joked in her own news conference that Intel would now have to change its latest advertising slogan from "sponsors of tomorrow" to "the sponsor of the European taxpayer".


"It is a major decision that shows the Commission is serious about curtailing abusive behaviour of dominant companies, especially in the high-tech sector."

And it is wondered why folks begin to think:


That the EU is a fascist, simultanously communist, evil superstate.

oh, and kudos for "infantilodytes" - a beautiful coinage. :bow:

[Hosakawa Tito]

Why levy taxes on hard-working Europeans when you can let evil foreigners pay for your fancy subsidies? :pirate2:


Mighty Europe (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8047546.stm) strikes fear in the hearts and wallets of its adversaries again - just in time for the elections.


What shall we spend the money on? :beam:

Wine, women, and song...then squander the rest.:laugh4:

[KukriKhan]

Elections to the European Parliament will be held in the 27 member states of the EU in June. 736 Members of the European Parliament will be elected by proportional representation to represent some 500,000,000 Europeans, making these the biggest trans-national elections in history.

What is expected to be the turn-out?

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Wine, women, and song...then squander the rest.:laugh4:

The European government has one of those four down pat. ~;)

[Scurvy]

What is expected to be the turn-out?

Low, the turnout in 2004 was around the 40% mark, and is likely to be at a similar level this time.

[KukriKhan]

Low, the turnout in 2004 was around the 40% mark, and is likely to be at a similar level this time.

Thanks. :bow: With less than half of voters exercising their franchise, and the multiplicity of parties and platforms further diluting the vote, how can any election "winner" fathom a mandate of any kind?

I don't intend that as criticism; you fellas over there do as you like, of course. God knows we've had significant trouble here getting our our electorate motivated enough to actually vote (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0781453.html) the past 50 years. 60% is a holy grael in the US, seldom achieved.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

I don't intend that as criticism; you fellas over there do as you like, of course. God knows we've had significant trouble here getting our our electorate motivated enough to actually vote (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0781453.html) the past 50 years. 60% is a holy grael in the US, seldom achieved.

From that it looks like your Presidential elections are much more heavily publicized than your Congressional ones.

[Fixiwee]

I'm still struggeling about these election. Not that I don't favour the EU, quite the contrary. But the austrian parties are absolutley horrible through and through. The stuff and discussion over here make me wanna vote invalid.

[Scurvy]

There are a few reasons why the EU parliament elections are so poorly attented.

Apathy/ Disillusionment is high with political elections all round the board, I think general elections are widely around the 60% mark in most EU countries.

The EU Parliament in itself is flawed imo. It was formed to give the EU some democratic legitamacy, but in reality, all the useful work gets done by the committee and various ministerial groups, it only really gets in the way, and due to low turnouts, doesn't really provide any legitamacy anyway.

Parties - I don't know about elsewhere, but in the UK the anti-Europe parties tend to do very well. Okay, it might reflect peoples opinion, but it means the EU Parliament is full of people who are ideologically opposed to much of what it is trying to do. It is also a really confusing party setup. None of the major European parties/blocks are particularly appealing to me as a fairly pro-EUer.

:2thumbsup:

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Okay, it might reflect peoples opinion, but it means the EU Parliament is full of people who are ideologically opposed to much of what it is trying to do.

Unfortunately, it isn't - but it should be. For a true democratic process to be in effect you need an opposition. Daniel Hannan has pointed this out quite eloquently in the past, and I wish more would listen.

[Louis VI the Fat]

Europe on Thursday launched two powerful space telescopes, Herschel and Planck, designed to peer into the origins of the Universe and the formation of stars and galaxies.
The two observatories, together costing some 1.8 billion euros (2.44 billion dollars), were hurled into the skies at 1312 GMT by an Ariane 5 ECA heavy rocket from the European Space Agency's launch pad at Kourou, French Guiana.

"ESA is en route to the origin of the Universe," declared Jean-Jacques Dordain, the agency's director general. No European country alone is large enough to have a space program (http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Europe_launches_Big_Bang_space_telescopes_999.html). Only when co-operating will space - and spin-off patents and technology - not be the exclusive domain of the Americans, Japanese and Chinese.

[rory_20_uk]

The most used argument for a space programme is the spin offs. 1.8 billion and we might get some pictures of the early universe...

Is it not possible to increase funding to research without the need to send objects into orbit which adds millions to the bill?

I fail to see the need to vote people in to the highly subsidised jobs that the EU elections are for. As has been said, the parliment doesn't do that much and the EU as a whole is rather like the American banking system - too large to fail, so it lurches on, almost rudderless, accounts never getting passed by the auditors and becoming a directionless blob who'se main aims appear to desperately appear as relevent to the people who by and large got little if any say in its creation.

~:smoking: