Your voice in Europe, your vote on May 25th

[Guanche]

Just listening to the TV pundits and they made an interesting point. They say that because the far Left and the far Right are so far apart that they won't have any impact on the centre Europhiles. So the question is Does the EU have to listen to anyone?

[Janet]

Not sure about that ... in some ways the political spectrum is more horseshoe-shaped than linear: the far right and far left aren't really that far apart, just think how Hitler and Mussolini got on ...

[Janet]

One of the BBC's headlines is "Eurosceptic 'earthquake' rocks EU elections" ...

Elsewhere exit polls suggest the radical left anti-austerity party Syriza has come first in the elections in Greece. While in Italy it looks set to be a close fight between the Democratic Party of the Prime Minister Matteo Renzi (running in his first national campaign) and Beppe Grillo's Five Star Movement.

So plenty of anti-establishment parties are poised to increase their share of the vote, as predicted. It could well make for a more interesting more rumbustious European parliament. Even so there will still be a clear pro-European majority.

The question for mainstream parties on the centre-right and the centre-left is how they intend to respond to the sense of dissatisfaction with "politics as usual" that many voters have clearly expressed.

Far right in France, far left in Greece ... horseshoe ...

[Guanche]

I am trying to get my head around the EU and its Parliament and how it works. I'm ashamed to say I really didn't have an idea how it works and how the 'groups' Left Centre and right are made up and how they get power in the house. Parties, it would seem, have to group and there must be a minimum of seven countries to make a group. The Tory's were in the EU Conservative group but Cameron took them out so now their in a smaller group  Sorry Janet I'm losing the will to live

[Janet]

And I've just lost it having heard a defeated Conservative MEP saying that the Front National victory in France is "a bad day for democracy". What the fuck? It was democracy that allowed them to be voted for!

[Guanche]

Yes think were watching the same program. Now some Libdem saying how well they did  and still beating the drum for the EU FFS! They just don't get it even in the jaws of death!! This for me is one of the greatest problem with politics 100% BS but the public have moved on. They just don't get it!

[Janet]

Greece is interesting ... Syriza up from almost nothing to 26%, and Golden Dawn on 9% ... hard left and far right between them have won over a third of the vote. The extremes really aren't so far apart.

[Janet]

And in Spain, the far left has done really well ..

PP 16 out of 54 MEPS, down from 24; PSOE 14 down from 23. 24 MEPs from other parties! Nearly half!

Podemos, new left-wing party based in the Los Indignados movement against austerity even got five seats.

Polls weren't predicting this.

[Janet]

LibDems saying that the anti-EU vote shows they need to work harder to make the argument for the EU ... (alternative might be to admit error, perhaps ... ) ...

AND that well, of course, there are always protest votes against the party in government ... (so why hasn't the conservative vote collapsed too then) ...

People won't forgive and forget, that's the LibDem's real problem! And long may that problem continue, lying hypocritical treacherous Tory-supporting student-fee-principle-changling bastards ... and personal liberty traitors, of all parties to undermine personal liberties ...

Wipeout, and deservedly so.

[Michael]

Where are the results? I can't find anything.