Brussels Reporter
  • Home
  • Brussels
  • Europe
    • Europe

      The Swiss art of automata now part of…

      January 24, 2021January 24, 2021

      Europe

      Estonia to get new government, first female PM

      January 24, 2021

      Europe

      New Zealand records first COVID case outside of…

      January 24, 2021January 24, 2021

      Europe

      Eleven workers rescued from China mine after being…

      January 24, 2021January 24, 2021

      Europe

      Relaxed and crowded scenes in Wuhan – a…

      January 23, 2021January 23, 2021

  • Globe
  • Lifestyle
  • Business

Brussels Reporter

  • Home
  • Brussels
  • Europe
    • Europe

      The Swiss art of automata now part of…

      January 24, 2021January 24, 2021

      Europe

      Estonia to get new government, first female PM

      January 24, 2021

      Europe

      New Zealand records first COVID case outside of…

      January 24, 2021January 24, 2021

      Europe

      Eleven workers rescued from China mine after being…

      January 24, 2021January 24, 2021

      Europe

      Relaxed and crowded scenes in Wuhan – a…

      January 23, 2021January 23, 2021

  • Globe
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
Home Europe The Social democrats’ comeback – VoxEurop (English)
Europe

The Social democrats’ comeback – VoxEurop (English)

by editor August 14, 2019
August 14, 2019

The surprise success of the Labour Party and the middling performance of a far-right start-up in the Netherlands proved opinion polls to be significantly wide of the mark. Though the Greens decisively increased their share of the vote, the political centre ultimately held its ground fairly convincingly.

Before the elections, opinion polls indicated two parties to be neck-and-neck, vying for first place: the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), a rightwing liberal member of ALDE led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte, and the new far-right populist party Forum for Democracy (FvD) that suddenly came to prominence in provincial elections in 2016 and is now part of the eurosceptic ECR grouping. But it was the Labour Party (PvdA) that ended up victorious on behalf of the Socialists & Democrats bloc.

This more than made up for its performance in the 2014 EP election, when Labour played a role in coalition with Rutte’s VVD that largely lost the goodwill of leftwing voters. After national elections in 2017, Labour was free to critique Rutte’s third grand coalition from the outside. The real boost then came from S&D veteran lead candidate Frans Timmermans: it was not least the tantalizing prospect of a Dutchman potentially landing a top EU job that propelled Labour to the top of the poll with 18.9 percent and six seats.

DEuropean elections unlikely to alter domestic politics

As unexpected as the result was, its effect on domestic politics has been limited thus far. VVD has won three national elections in a row under Rutte. Despite never having won a European election, second place means that it remains the strongest party in the current coalition.

FvD, the upstart in the populist bloc, came third with 10.9 percent and three MEPs. Using a cautious anti-EU rhetoric that made no mention of Nexit, they struck a fine balance between EU-scepticism and fears of becoming mired in a Brexit-style process. Among the party’s leading politicians, Derk Jan Eppink had worked in cabinet secretary positions at the European Commission before being elected as an MEP in 2009, when he represented the Belgian LDD party (then known as Lijst Dedecker). Eppink certainly seemed competent during the campaign, allowing party leader Thierry Baudet to use his anti-Islam rhetoric freely in an attempt to woo the traditional populist vote. Denying the human causes of climate change is another of Baudet’s specialties.


The FvD campaign effectively wiped out Geert Wilder’s PVV, which had been aiming to take first place in national elections just two years ago but did not receive a single mandate this time round – unless Brexit finally happens and the re-distribution of seats leads to the PVV securing one MEP position.

Relative stability, relatively high turnout

The Dutch political system has very low barriers to entry because there are no first-pass-the-post mandates at any level. Neither are there any thresholds in regional elections or those for the lower and upper houses, or indeed for the European Parliament. Nonetheless, leftwing and rightwing populist blocs remain relatively stable. The Green-affiliated parties have increased their overall support.

Turnout increased by 5 percent on 2014 levels and was the highest since 1989. Yet with 41.8 percent, it is still significantly below the EU average. Although the Netherlands has one of the highest non-national populations among member states, it is likely that only a small number of EU nationals voted since the relevant registration process effectively ended before the election campaign began.


This article is published in association with Eurozine.

Eurozine describes itself as “a network of European cultural journals, linking up more than 80 partner journals as well as associated magazines and institutions from nearly all European countries.”

Source link

previous post
The Social democrats’ comeback
next post
More than 3,500 Brits became Belgians since 2016

Related Posts

Puigdemont picks up MEP badge after court boost

December 21, 2019

Israelis defy lockdown law to protest against Netanyahu

October 3, 2020

Hong Kong: Seven pro-democracy lawmakers arrested

November 1, 2020

British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell pleads not guilty to...

July 14, 2020

No-fly zone flop undermines EU’s grand ambitions

March 7, 2020

Pentagon says Iraq withdrawal letter shouldn’t have been...

January 7, 2020

EasyJet could cut three UK airport bases as...

July 1, 2020

European health systems could be in better health

November 25, 2018

More than 100 killed in latest ethnic massacre...

December 23, 2020

UK to drop plan to breach international law

December 8, 2020
Promotion Image

Recent Posts

  • Russia Navalny protests: Kremlin hits out at West as it downplays rallies
  • The Swiss art of automata now part of UNESCO’s intangible heritage
  • Estonia to get new government, first female PM
  • Mesut Ozil: Arsenal midfielder joins Fenerbahce on free transfer
  • New Zealand records first COVID case outside of quarantine in months
Promotion Image

GO!

Lifestyle

  • Scientists are using satellites to count elephants from space for the first time

  • France: Hospital workers demand more resources to fight COVID-19

  • Alexei Navalny: Millions watch jailed critic's 'Putin palace' film

  • Covid vaccine: WHO warns of ‘catastrophic moral failure’

  • Belgium looks good in white

Popular Posts

  • 1

    Beware of scammING. Dirty money of famous bank

    October 6, 2020
  • 2

    Norway: No link established after post-COVID-19 vaccination deaths, says health authority

    January 18, 2021
  • 3

    Assange fight draws in Trump’s new intel chief Ric Grenell

    February 25, 2020

Editor’s Choices

  • European Parliament will set up vaccination centers for MEPs, staff and locals

    January 21, 2021
  • Why ‘equal access’ to coronavirus vaccines is failing poor countries

    January 20, 2021
  • Merkel era may only just be beginning

    January 16, 2021

Opinions

  • Estonia to get new government, first female PM

    January 24, 2021
  • Russian police arrest over 1,300 at pro-Navalny protests

    January 23, 2021
  • Belgium clamps down on cross-border travel

    January 22, 2021

@2018-2021 - Brussels Reporter (www.brusselsreporter.com). All Right Reserved.