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June 14, 2004

European voters hand their governments a rebuke

Voters viewed the this week's European Parliamentary Elections as referenda on their national governments and, almost universally gave them a slap in the face. No government of a major EU state was unscathed and to make things worse, European officials are, this morning trying to explain why less than 45% of voters even bothered to cast their vote.

Personally, I think the answer is so obvious it's embarrassing. Most Europeans think it is a waste of time to vote for a body that has virtually no power. The European Parliament cannot propose legislation or set the budget. It can say 'no' to legislation proposed by the European Commission, but it can also be easily overruled. So there really isn't much in it for voters who cannot change a thing.

Posted by maxthecat on June 14, 2004 at 07:48 AM | Printer-friendly version
Filed in: Politics / World

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