by Allison Wheeler, MAEUS Student
This blog post was written for the course "Dialogue on Europe" during the Fall 2019 semester.
This blog post was written for the course "Dialogue on Europe" during the Fall 2019 semester.
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| Photo Credit: Mohamed Yahya, via Flickr. License available here. |
2019 has been a suspenseful year for
elections in Europe. The European Parliament elections, held in May, were
watched and researched carefully within each Member State, to predict how
potential changing majorities and elected MEPs would set the course of the EU
for the next 5 years. The resurgence and vigor of right-wing nationalism,
particularly in central and eastern European states in recent years, such as
Poland and Hungary, has become a headlining concern for the EU itself, but also
EU Member States with political factions that have become fragile in the wake
of recent crises that have hit the EU.
By December of 2015, early numbers showed that over 900,000 asylum seekers war-torn countriessuch as Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq were within European borders. Amongst the most open of the states that accepted refugees was Germany. German Chancellor Angela Merkel shocked many by opening the German borders to what ended up actually being over 1 million refugees within her state alone. The aftermath of this crisis within the EU, though not entirely to blame, has stirred up strong nationalist rhetoric that has begun to shift the course of elections across the continent.
By December of 2015, early numbers showed that over 900,000 asylum seekers war-torn countriessuch as Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq were within European borders. Amongst the most open of the states that accepted refugees was Germany. German Chancellor Angela Merkel shocked many by opening the German borders to what ended up actually being over 1 million refugees within her state alone. The aftermath of this crisis within the EU, though not entirely to blame, has stirred up strong nationalist rhetoric that has begun to shift the course of elections across the continent.
On Sunday,
September 1st, two eastern German states, Saxony and Brandenburg, held
parliamentary elections. The German right-wing, anti-immigration party,
Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) was poised to make significant gains,
potentially toppling the majorities of Merkel’s party, the Christian Democratic
Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD). The EP elections in May already gave indication of German support (11% of Germans to be exact) for theAfD and strongholds for the party in the east meant that this
election could prove to be significant for it and its supporters.
And in fact, it was significant. While the votes that came in for the AfD did not cause major upsets of the majority parties, it raised eyebrows for sure. The party is definitely in the ring to spar and this election has proved it. In Brandenburg,the AfD improved 11.3% since the last election and received 23.5% of overallvotes, coming in “second” under the SPD, that held 26.2% of votes (and lost 5.7% from the last election). In Saxony, the AfD increased their voter turnout by nearly 18% and received 27.5% of votes, while still best by the CDU, which clutched 32.1% of voters despite decreasing 7.3% from 2014.
Though just a state-level parliamentary election, the results are telling of the larger political trends encroaching upon Europe. The right-wing nationalist, anti-immigration rhetoric has sounded in the ears of EU citizens and they are using their voices and voting power to insight change within their democratic governments, causing fragility and fracturing of majority parties like the CDU. It is safe to say that the political climate in Europe at the moment is a hotbed that we should continue paying attention to. The Brexit battle is far from over, democratic backsliding in the eastern EU states cannot be ignored, and soon the results of parliamentary elections like this in Germany may lead to similar results in upcoming national elections, shifting the political climate across Europe ever further to the right. Suddenly (or maybe not-so suddenly), the importance of the preservation of national identity has broken through as a leading issue in a continent whose supranational leaders are trying trying to ever-integrate, causing great frictions for the EU and its member-states.
And in fact, it was significant. While the votes that came in for the AfD did not cause major upsets of the majority parties, it raised eyebrows for sure. The party is definitely in the ring to spar and this election has proved it. In Brandenburg,the AfD improved 11.3% since the last election and received 23.5% of overallvotes, coming in “second” under the SPD, that held 26.2% of votes (and lost 5.7% from the last election). In Saxony, the AfD increased their voter turnout by nearly 18% and received 27.5% of votes, while still best by the CDU, which clutched 32.1% of voters despite decreasing 7.3% from 2014.
Though just a state-level parliamentary election, the results are telling of the larger political trends encroaching upon Europe. The right-wing nationalist, anti-immigration rhetoric has sounded in the ears of EU citizens and they are using their voices and voting power to insight change within their democratic governments, causing fragility and fracturing of majority parties like the CDU. It is safe to say that the political climate in Europe at the moment is a hotbed that we should continue paying attention to. The Brexit battle is far from over, democratic backsliding in the eastern EU states cannot be ignored, and soon the results of parliamentary elections like this in Germany may lead to similar results in upcoming national elections, shifting the political climate across Europe ever further to the right. Suddenly (or maybe not-so suddenly), the importance of the preservation of national identity has broken through as a leading issue in a continent whose supranational leaders are trying trying to ever-integrate, causing great frictions for the EU and its member-states.
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