And what of the left in Europe? May 23, 2014
Posted by WorldbyStorm in British Politics, European Politics.trackback
Already some indications coming through. It’s always a good day to see Geert Wilders and his crew pushed back, and I’ve got to admit a fondness for the Socialist Party in the Netherlands so good to see them gaining seats (by the way, does anyone know the story as to why one of their MEPs jumped ship to Independent Socialist a year or two back?).
In Britain there’s interesting things happening. I may be wrong, but I suspect the narrative will actually be better for Labour by the end of the weekend than now, and while it’s clear UKIP is doing relatively well (and likely to do very well at European level) it’s difficult not to think back to previous ‘breakthrough’s’ experienced by the Green Party there amongst others and see this as fundamentally a protest vote with much less impact on national politics than might be thought. Though, results may make a mockery of that analysis.
But it’s a big continent out there and lots happening so any straws in the wind are very welcome in relation to that.
The Cedar Lounge Revolution 
The Workers’ Party of Belgium I’d say a one to watch as the last Ipsos poll for the le soir newspaper had them at 8.3% in Wallonia. A danger there is that there are only 8 seats in the francophone electoral college, so touch and go. Still, looking good for them in the general and regional elections happening on the same day.
http://www.lesoir.be/551759/article/actualite/belgique/elections-2014/2014-05-22/grand-barometre-n-va-sous-barre-des-30
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For anyone interested in following the results of the Belgian Federal and Regional elections can do so at the link below. Looking good for the Workers’ Party there if the early numbers are to be believed.
http://elections2014.lesoir.be/result/federal
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A very interesting party too. Another one with a Maoist past which has shifted towards democratic socialism.
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Seems to be something of a habit there in the low countries.
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Eurosondagem polling firm predicting 3 seats in Portugal for the PCP-PEV and 1 seat for the Left Bloc.
http://expresso.sapo.pt/seguro-vence-mas-pouco=f872053
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Looking at the British results, I had forgotten the Liberal Party was still out there – they seem to have lost a couple of their seats.
It’s funny the small parties that pop into view at election time, but I never hear of the rest of the time. Likewise (thankfully) with the CSP in Ireland.
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The SP are interesting. Led by a very endearing and humble leader they are doing better each election.
However the Irish voter should not think it’s similar to our socialist party. It is a left wing party but it’s clearly an adamantly against EU. It is a left wing party but it’s adamant that the culture of the Netherlands is Dutch culture.
It’s also against the neo liberal character of the EU and similarly argues for a more restrictive immigration policy because they believe it’s purpose is to undermine labour for the benefit of Capital.
They are very involved now about non Dutch truck drivers undermining the local drivers.
On the question of kartika liotard she said there was intimidatuon They said she was not to work with. They also had a t the crux a debate about the contribution of salaries to the party. Don’t got the full story there though. It got nasty though.
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Useful to know.
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It is also useful to see why Wilders lost so heavy. 65% of his voters stayed at home. There is a very fine line between saying out of Europe and persuading your voter to put you in there. Send me to Westminster to reduce westministers influence.
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That’s very true and I hadn’t thought of it like that before. Could be the sort of thing that will bite the like of UKIP further down the line.
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Full exit poll from Greece is:
SYRIZA 26% – 30%
Nea Dimokratia 23% – 27%
PASOK/ELIA 7% -9%
Golden Dawn 8% -10%
To Potami 5% – 7%
KKE 5% – 7%
Independent Greeks 3,5% – 5%
Democratic Left 1.5% – 2.5%
LAOS 1.5% -2.5%
That is 31% – 37% for SYRIZA and KKE combined which (with Greek majority boost) could be enough to form a Govt, after the next GE.
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EPP ahead by 20 seats in front of S&D in the first EU-wide projection.
GUE/NGL only 47 seats, but it’s early days.
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S&D affiliate’s performance in Poland a large contributor to that, Projection to get 5 seats there apparently.
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The S&D were punished in France as well as in Ireland, for promising to stand up the Troika and then delivering, well, precisely nothing.
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The AfD is being feted by the meeja and are doing the ‘neither right nor left’ thing. The Green rep is looking on approvingly.
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Official exit poll figures from Greece:
So PASOK have done surprisingly well (or not as disastrously as expected). Doubtless the total of 31% for government parties will be spun as some kind of legitimation.
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HArd to know how to take the Spanish <a href="https://twitter.com/eldiarioes/status/470671229759012866"projections which have the PP winning (but well down) ahead of POSE (also well down) and then IU, the United Left, third – but not as close to the others as they’d have hoped. However, the big news is that Podemos (We Can), a new party which grew out of the Indignados movement, appears to have come fourth. (I didn’t have a vote because of a cock-up: if I’d had one, I was undecided whether to vote for IU or Podemos.)
It’s complicated to say precisely who’s left and who’s right, and Catalonia and Euskadi complicate matters, but even if we count UPyD, the Spanish PD, as right, which is not entirely fair, I don’t see that the right overall beat the left. No far right representation at all, by the way.
More good than bad.
Campaign most noticeable for sexist remarks from the PP campaign leader, Cañete, for which he eventally had to apologise, and an amazingly stupid intervention from Felipe González who mooted a possible future PP/PSOE alliance, which may play well among the European great and good, but is the last thing PSOE want to have put about given how many of their supporters fail to distinguish them from the PP.
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Sorry for the link failure. It’s late here. If anybody can fix it I’d be obliged. I’m going to bed.
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