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Liberal and Democrat MEPs will be returning to the new European Parliament after this weekend's European elections in almost exactly the same proportions as they left the old with approximately 12% of the seats of the House. Precise numbers are yet to be confirmed but they expect to form a group with about 85 MEPs. With no overall majority party, this will confirm their role as Kingmakers in the new Parliament.
Graham Watson MEP (outgoing leader of the ALDE group) called today for a new political deal in the Parliament that makes sense for Europe's voters:
"Rather than the illogical, technical deals between Right and Left that we have seen in the past, Parliament needs to form a political and ideological majority based on a clear programme of action which will guide our work in the coming mandate.
"Voters have expressed, once again, a disengagement with European politics by the falling turnout (43% against 45.5% five years ago) which the next President of the House must take up with some urgency. This will be the leitmotif of my campaign to become President over the weeks ahead.
The polls have also demonstrated that we still run 27 different national campaigns rather than a European one. Votes were cast largely according to national political grievances or as a vote on the performance of an incumbent Government or in reaction to a particular national debate. It is regrettable that we lacked a sense of a pan-European political campaign on the policy issues that are the substance of our work.
Finally, I very much regret the election of a number of far right extremists who advocate values of intolerance and hatred of foreigners which are anathema to the model of Europe we are trying to build. I predict that their own internal divisions and incoherence will prevent them from spreading their ideas further afield."
See also:
The original at ALDE web-site
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