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Pesmerga, are you based in Brussels too?
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Apr 28, 2014 16:08
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Thanks for that advice, guys! Now might be a bit early, but I'll write this stuff down and remember it for when I'm done with my bachelors degree.
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Apr 28, 2014 16:09
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Deltasquid posted:Thanks for that advice, guys! Now might be a bit early, but I'll write this stuff down and remember it for when I'm done with my bachelors degree. If you want a College of Europe scholarship, you'd better start planning for it now  Also study hard 
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Apr 28, 2014 16:14
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Junior G-man posted:Pesmerga, are you based in Brussels too? I'm not, but I do study the EU. I go there for interviews now and again, and funnily enough my current work is on lobbying processes within the European Union (although predominantly focusing on the Commission rather than the Parliament). I also know quite a few people who now work for the Commission and the EU legal service.
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Apr 28, 2014 16:16
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Junior G-man posted:If you want a College of Europe scholarship, you'd better start planning for it now Precisely why I decided to start asking questions now! The studying part is probably the hardest one, because my grades are good but not top-notch. 
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Apr 28, 2014 16:18
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It depends where exactly you want to go. Not all positions at the European level have (implicit or explicit) nationality or language quota, but some of them do and those are already inundated with Belgians, for obvious reasons. Similarly, they have no shortage of candidates who speak Dutch-French-English. Of course, if you're really interested you should definitely still go for it, if you have the skills and motivation there's no reason you won't succeed. Just a warning that there is probably going to be some stiff competition. Lots of Brussels goons here. I myself live in the Flemish hinterland about twenty kilometers from Brussels and will be working there starting this June.
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Apr 28, 2014 16:21
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Deltasquid posted:Precisely why I decided to start asking questions now! The studying part is probably the hardest one, because my grades are good but not top-notch. Grades aren't everything; good extracurriculars are great. My best advice would be to study abroad, through Erasmus if you can manage it. They're easy to get, a hell of a lot of fun (never seen people sleep around so much as Erasmus students), and a fabulous experience. Anything extra like executive posts / event organisation for anything student-run will help, even more if it's international in nature with external speakers. Pesmerga: Let me know when you're in Brussels next, we'll go for a drink and talk lobbying
Junior G-man fucked around with this message at 16:26 on Apr 28, 2014 |
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Apr 28, 2014 16:22
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Junior G-man posted:Grades aren't everything; good extracurriculars are great. My best advice would be to study abroad, through Erasmus if you can manage it. They're easy to get, a hell of a lot of fun (never seen people sleep around so much as Erasmus students), and a fabulous experience. Anything extra like executive posts / event organisation for anything student-run will help, even more if it's international in nature with external speakers. I've got quite a lot of friends who are part of ELSA, AEGEE and the international + Erasmus part of VRG, so I should start looking into that... Also yeah, Erasmus students. Haven't been quite that close to them but I have heard the stories. Phlegmish posted:Lots of Brussels goons here. I myself live in the Flemish hinterland about twenty kilometers from Brussels and will be working there starting this June. Belgium appreciation station ITT.
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Apr 28, 2014 16:26
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So, what is going on in Italy. Current MEPs: 71. We'll vote for 73 this time around. How's the election working: the country's split into 5 regions: North-East, North-West, Center, South, Islands (Sicily and Sardinia). Basically our seats will be counted with a weighted average of votes, region by region. We have at our disposal the glorious democratic instrument of voting preferences, so we'll be able to choose up to three politicians who will receive a paid holiday in Bruxelles. Be mindful: if we don't choose people of two different sexes, our third preference will be declared null and void. If you don't express preferences, votes get defaulted on a list of candidates. Placing people on top of the lists means they're very likely to get a seat. Note #1: most people don't know if and who they're going to vote. Like 60%. And our polls are notoriously bad. So take those numbers with a grain of salt. Note #2: people here have no idea what we're voting for. The most practical thing to think is that we're going to show a measurable amount of consensus on the current government. Parties will use the result of these elections for propaganda. Democratic Party [Partito Democratico, PD] Current MEPs: 23 Supports: S&D Polls place it at: 34% (28 Apr 2014) Renzi's party. As already stated, this round of elections is going to be used as a testbed for our new premier. His trademark was the "let's scrap them" [referring to the current politics] in 2010, which was the buzzword that started his acension to the leadership of the PD. He's got strong opposition inside his party and winning in May will allow him to shut up his close enemies. The PD agenda wasn't strictly tied to the premier's in the last years, but Renzi has taken notes during the Berlusconi governments and started identifying his party in his staff: he's always been socialist and pro-Europe, so they're making a decent effort in taking these elections seriously. He went against the party and promoted 5 women on top of the regional lists, there's no evident clown going to Bruxelles. Most likely going to be the top party due to the momentum Renzi has gained, this could be a career-ending failure if the polls were to turn out completely wrong. Yes, it has happened before. Forza Italia Political Movement [Forza Italia, FI] Current MEPs: 17 Supports: PPE (at the time of writing, at least) Polls place it at: 19% (28 Apr 2014) Berlusconi's party. It is currently dissolving, most of his voters turned to M5S or to PD recently, and at least one of his top-guys abandoned the ship. After what he said regaring Germany and lagers, his party might even be excluded fromt he PPE group. Maybe. At the time of writing it's at an all-time low, the top names on the lists are nobodies, we're all waiting for Berlusconi's media bomb to earn consensus. On the other hand the man's 78, he's got yesmen and incompetent seat-warmers around him, and he's got a sentence on his head - the hilarious stuff about him serving 4 hours / week doing social work is true. It seems hard he can manage to turn things around. But you never know. It could be the nail in the coffin. Five Star Movement [Movimento Cinque Stelle, M5S] Current MEPs: 0 Supports: - Polls place it at: 24% (28 Apr 2014) Grillo's "non-party". You should know something about this party. It's a movement which started in 2007 with local meetups, with common folks discussing problems. Flash forward to 2013, they broke the bipolarism we had since the '50s and became the 3rd national party. How? At its best, M5S brought "normal people" inside the spheres of power, tried to induce mandatory primary elections in all political groups, and brought some fear of God into the old politicians. At its worst, it's fueling violent and ignorant behaviours and using them as political catalyst, and uses media spinning to bolster its ideas. In the last 2-3 months it has really shown who its target voter is, by inopportunely quoting Primo Levi (an Auschwitz survivor, known mainly for his work Survival in Auschwitz) or by aggressively expelling its members for ideological differences. My personal opinion taints the description of this group but I can't really take seriously a political group with technocratic tendencies which believes in bullshit like chemtrails, aloe healing cancer and autism induced by vaccines. Isn't going to ally with any major political group, is being coherent with its nature by sending "normal people" (read: incompetent and/or inexperienced people) to the EP, has placed draconian measures on its candidates to ensure noone will "betray" them (basically, they were forced to sign a paper which stated "if you ever disagree with the party, pay 250k€ or go home"). I'll stop here because I despise them. Its policies are kinda anti-EU, surely they're not rooting for a federal Europe. There's a list... oh, I found it: Abolish Fiscal Compact, Adopt Eurobonds, Alliance between Mediterranean countries for shared politics, Referendum for keeping the Euro... what the hell, I can't do it, sorry. This round of elections is a test to see if they are keeping up with the sudden surge of consensus they had one year ago. The balloon might go even higher or might pop and fall. New Centre-Right – Union of the Centre [Nuovo Centro-Destra - Unione di Centro, NCD-UDC] Current MEPs: 14 Supports: PPE Polls place it at: 6% (28 Apr 2014) Alfano's party after he split with Berlusconi. He allied with Casini, an old timer. If you're Catholic and conservative and for some reason aren't going to vote Berlusconi, you'll vote for these guys. Currently their strategy is unknown. I mean, it seems they're just waiting for someone to die (politically) and take their place. They're waiting for Forza Italia's death. It doens't really look like a good strategy but I guess they don't have anything else, since this party is made from former FI members (therefore, mostly yesmen and incompetent fools). They'll get a couple of seats. Northern League [Lega Nord, LN] Current MEPs: 7 Supports: ELD Polls place it at: 5% (28 Apr 2014) The famous group who wants to split the Northern Italy from the rest. They're anti-Europe and they want out of everything. They lost most of their voters to M5S, they're in shambles and they're trying to recover. They still have a small group of hardcore voters which they don't care for what LN currently says, they care for what it represents: the dream of freedom for the hard-workers, no more dragged down by their lazy compatriots. They'll get a couple of seats, too. Brothers of Italy - National Alliance [Fratelli d'Italia - Alleanza Nazionale, AN] Current MEPs: 3 Supports: - Polls place it at: 3.5% (28 Apr 2014) And this is the right-wing party (FI is the moderate-right). Even if they were decent guys (and for most part they aren't), they'd be facing too much concurrency. They're waiting for FI's death too. European Choice [Scelta Europea, SC] Current MEPs: 1 Supports: ALDE Polls place it at: 3% (28 Apr 2014) It's actually a group of liberal parties. Monti's, for instance, but others too. Not going to be taken seriously ever, liberalism is despised here. The Other Europe with Tsipras [L'altra Europa con Tsipras] Current MEPs: 0 Supports: GUE/NGL Polls place it at: 3% (28 Apr 2014) "Who the hell is this guy?! A Greek guy? What the hell does he want from us?" Dunno, I actually like him but the guys aligning with him here are unrepented left-wing extremist, madmen and clowns. It doesn't seem likely they'll get past the minimum percentage. Green Italia - European Green [Green Italia - Verdi Europei] Current MEPs: 0 Supports: S&D Polls place it at: 0.X% (28 Apr 2014) Comedy option #1. "Greens"? What are "Greens"? Italy of Values [Italia dei Valori, IDV] Current MEPs: 4 Supports: ALDE Polls place it at: 0.X% (28 Apr 2014) Comedy option #2. Used to be the leftist angry voter's party, its leader was a former attorney, newspapers somehow found his less-than-legal activities, the party disappeared. Most of its voters now vote PD or M5S. Sudtirol Volkspartei Current MEPs: 1 Supports: PPE Polls place it at: 0.X% (28 Apr 2014) The party representing the minorities of Sudtirol. Usually they teamed with FI, they're on their own this time around. Why? Dunno. Associative Movement Italians Abroad Current MEPs: 1 Supports: - As above. I don't even get how this party can exist. Move over. ---- So: TLDR. People don't know we're not voting for our parties but for something bigger; political forces need to confirm their success because they're gasping for air; poo poo's hosed up. As usual! Char fucked around with this message at 20:47 on Apr 28, 2014 |
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Apr 28, 2014 16:32
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 “Tell me who you walk with, and I'll tell you who you are.”
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Apr 28, 2014 17:58
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I missed the first 27 minutes of the debate. Did I miss anything important?
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Apr 28, 2014 18:27
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Juncker and Schultz are absolute charisma vacuums, aren't they?
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Apr 28, 2014 18:42
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Char posted:Brothers of Italy - National Alliance [Fratelli d'Italia - Alleanza Nazionale, AN]  incarnate. They are totally not fascist guys really no come on. They tune it down just enough to be able to be a legitimate party. The party in its current form actually drove out a lot of people who were conservative (they fled to the FLI after AN split from the ruling coalition, and there's been lots of comings and goings, but overall they lost more of the non-radicals) and is now considerably more fascist. Its current leadership is full of people who participated in the Fronte della gioventu(MSI fascist youth group) and ex-Movimento Sociale Italiano members (also 90% fascist member base).
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Apr 28, 2014 18:57
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Junior G-man posted:For the two, three of you who follow the elections, EP Presidency candidates debate tonight at 19:00 CET! Cool, when can I vote for my candidate?
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Apr 28, 2014 18:58
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Ska Skeller (is that her name?) seems to be sidestepping questions and giving pretty universal answers nobody would disagree with.
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Apr 28, 2014 19:08
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Ghost of Mussolini posted:For quick characterizations I broadly agree with your post, but I want to make one thing totally clear for the thread. Fratelli d'Italia – Alleanza Nazionale are Well... It really doesn't strike me as the incarnation of fascism today. There are other parties/movements (Forza Nuova and Casa Pound) which do and they often express their disappointment in how Alleanza Nazionale has softened. But I don't know actual voters of that party, so I can't really tell. Also, they're pretty much irrelevant in the political scenario, so they have little chances to show their true colors. Char fucked around with this message at 20:47 on Apr 28, 2014 |
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Apr 28, 2014 20:38
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I am curious about jobs in Brussels as well. Though I don't speak French, I have English, German, and a pretty good command of a weird eastern European language. I studied mathematics but work in finance (at one of those evil giant banks you've heard of) and hate it. I guess this makes me stand out from the typical Belgian who studied politics - but do they actually care about recruiting 'different' people?
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Apr 28, 2014 20:47
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Char posted:So, what is going on in Italy. Huh, that's a really cool use of the list system to add in some much needed positive discrimination on top of the proportionality. I think I may have found my new favourite voting methodology.
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Apr 28, 2014 23:02
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Char are you based in Rome, or know any other goons who are? The girlfriend and I moved here recently (~10 months ago) and while I follow Aussie politics closely we're also trying to become more aware of Italian/European issues now that life is slowing down a bit, so we started a politics-themed meet up group. So far we have one other woman who came to the first drinks night but if you're interested (and in Rome) we'd love to bug you and other goons for like 10 hours about the upcoming elections: http://www.meetup.com/Roma-Greens-Politics-Activism-Meetup/ I swear there was an Italian politics thread a few months ago but now I can't find it for the life of me. Sulla Faex fucked around with this message at 16:51 on Apr 29, 2014 |
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Apr 29, 2014 16:46
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floppo posted:I am curious about jobs in Brussels as well. Though I don't speak French, I have English, German, and a pretty good command of a weird eastern European language. I studied mathematics but work in finance (at one of those evil giant banks you've heard of) and hate it. I guess this makes me stand out from the typical Belgian who studied politics - but do they actually care about recruiting 'different' people? As far as the institutions go, they definitely care about 'different' people and ensuring that all nations are well-represented. With your kind of skillset (don't know about your years of experience), it might be worth checking with the financial sections of the Commission and especially the Court of Auditors. The last is based in Luxembourg, but from my limited observations of the financial world, they often seem to be looking for people. I'd check with EPSO, the Court of Auditors, and especially with your foreign ministry or permanent representation here in Brussels. Usually the ministries have a section or post dedicated to stuffing their own nationalities into the EC etc. The permrep might have a closer vision of what's going on, and are good to have on side any way. Disclaimer: I work very far away from the financial side of Europe, and anything I say may be wrong.
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Apr 29, 2014 16:56
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I have about two years experience, perhaps three if you count the internships I've had. The thing is that I want to get out of finance. I don't want to work in financial regulation. I am actually a German citizen. Perhaps I should just do one of these traineeships in the parliament or at the commission.
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Apr 29, 2014 17:44
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Sulla-Marius 88 posted:Char are you based in Rome, or know any other goons who are? The girlfriend and I moved here recently (~10 months ago) and while I follow Aussie politics closely we're also trying to become more aware of Italian/European issues now that life is slowing down a bit, so we started a politics-themed meet up group. So far we have one other woman who came to the first drinks night but if you're interested (and in Rome) we'd love to bug you and other goons for like 10 hours about the upcoming elections: Sorry, I'm in Tuscany. There's a bunch of Italian goons... try and track them down The Italian politics thread is archived now. EDIT: anyone watched the presidential debate?
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Apr 29, 2014 18:02
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I know its only one constituency and six MEPs in the Euro elections: but I could try a little effort post on Scotland if the thread would be interested? The politics of Scotland are usually completely different to the UK; and especially now with the rise of UKIP... One other interesting fact about European elections in the UK is that since 2004, Gibraltar have had the right to vote in European parliament elections as part of the South West of England. Its not like they significantly influence the elections since the South West of England by itself is much bigger than Gibraltar, but since its the only time that Gibraltar votes in elections with the UK political parties, its kind of interesting. In 2009. the Tories had 53.4% of the vote (down a large amount, but the 2004 results were greatly influenced by Blair's government trying to negotiate join sovereignty with Spain which wasn't very popular), Labour and the Lib Dems were close around second place and UKIP were literally nowhere, at 1.4% of the vote being behind the Greens. It'll be interesting to see how There are also apparently 8 Cornish Nationalists in Gibraltar, as well!
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May 1, 2014 02:05
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Junior G-man posted:Alexis Tsipras. Hey so I'm a European right, and I just read your OP, and this guy sounds alright. So how do I vote for him? Oh. Oh right... Well then. It's not really a democracy is it?
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May 1, 2014 12:38
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Orange Devil posted:Hey so I'm a European right, and I just read your OP, and this guy sounds alright. So how do I vote for him? By this benchmark, can anything really be a democracy?
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May 1, 2014 12:40
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Pesmerga posted:By this benchmark, can anything really be a democracy? Clearly yes?
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May 1, 2014 13:01
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Orange Devil posted:Hey so I'm a European right, and I just read your OP, and this guy sounds alright. So how do I vote for him? Many representative democracies have candidates who can only be voted for directly if you reside in a specific region. That doesn't stop them from being democracies. Also, assuming you're Dutch/resident in the Netherlands, you can support Tsipras by voting for a candidate representing a GUE/NGL party.
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May 1, 2014 13:08
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Orange Devil posted:Hey so I'm a European right, and I just read your OP, and this guy sounds alright. So how do I vote for him? The EU has a serious democratic deficit, but the example you're using doesn't make much sense. By the same logic, any country with electoral districts (i.e. almost every democracy in the world except for the Netherlands, Italy and Israel) is actually non-democratic.
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May 1, 2014 13:08
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You can vote for people who will join Tsipras's bloc, who will work with him and support him, just like almost every democracy in the world. In the case of the Netherlands, the International Socialists and Socialist Alternative.
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May 1, 2014 13:16
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I mean there are many legitimate arguments to make the President of the Commission directly elected, but using an argument that could be used against every parliamentary democracy isn't really a good one...
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May 1, 2014 13:24
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Alecto posted:You can vote for people who will join Tsipras's bloc, who will work with him and support him, just like almost every democracy in the world. In the case of the Netherlands, the International Socialists and Socialist Alternative.
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May 1, 2014 13:57
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Based on a quick unscientific search: the closest to the EUL/NGL standing in Scotland is probably the No2EU lot, who are left-wing Eurosceptics: the RMT were involved at the last election, I'm not 100% sure who's involved in this one. Its also the only left party standing in Scotland, so its their own fault if they get no votes!
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May 1, 2014 14:02
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IceAgeComing posted:I know its only one constituency and six MEPs in the Euro elections: but I could try a little effort post on Scotland if the thread would be interested? The politics of Scotland are usually completely different to the UK; and especially now with the rise of UKIP... I'd be interested in this, especially in comparison to the rest of the UK.
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May 1, 2014 14:17
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Oh hey, I had no idea this thread existed. If you're still undecided, I suggest doing this quiz: http://www.euvox.eu/index.php My results were pretty much exactly what I expected, unsurprisingly.
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May 1, 2014 14:45
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IceAgeComing posted:Based on a quick unscientific search: the closest to the EUL/NGL standing in Scotland is probably the No2EU lot, who are left-wing Eurosceptics: the RMT were involved at the last election, I'm not 100% sure who's involved in this one. Its also the only left party standing in Scotland, so its their own fault if they get no votes! I hadn't realised they were back again. From what I remember from the last EU elections they were a coalition of some trade unionists (I know Bob Crow & the RMT were big backers) and some of the panoply of leftists we have here, Tommy Sheridan was on the list time round, I remember that much. Ah well, probably worth an X, though I'll probably try find out a bit about their candidates before May 22nd.
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May 1, 2014 15:06
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Orange Devil posted:Hey so I'm a European right, and I just read your OP, and this guy sounds alright. So how do I vote for him? Can you vote for the Prime Minister of the Netherlands?
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May 1, 2014 15:39
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Right: there probably are people more involved within the elections in Scotland who may be able to add something that I've missed. The main issue in the European elections is of course, the independence referendum that is taking place in September. Europe and the EU has been significant in the debate on independence, but that will not mean that turnout will go much above 20%... Probably the biggest difference between Scotland and the rest of the UK (ignoring Northern Ireland just because its so much different to anything else and I don't know anything about it) is that Scotland is broadly pro-EU with the debate on Europe not being "We want to leave!", but "Would an independent Scotland get into the EU" (and to a much lesser extent "Will Scotland get dragged out of the EU by England?"). Although I don't know any proper opinion polls on this and I'm not going to start trusting cross tabs because of sample size and weighting problems, my impression is that Scotland is broadly a lot more accepting of the European Union than the rest of the UK is. I'm just going to go through the parties standing and how they'll do in Scotland. Scotland has six MEPs currently, and will vote on six in this election, the first time that Scotland hasn't lost a seat since the move to PR in European elections in 1999. A little warning on the polling numbers: these are the latest I could find and are over a month old. I saw the Scotsman reporting something but it sounded like they were using the cross breaks on a UK poll to report on the Scotland picture, which means that it probably has a sample size of 50 and therefore is useless... If anyone has some newer, proper polls, then I'd be interested and could update the post. Scottish National Party Current MEPs: 2 European Parliamentary Group: The Greens–European Free Alliance Current Polls: 41% The current governing party in the Scottish Parliament and leading in the polls by a large margin. They won the last Euro election at the height of the misfortunes of the past Labour government. Since 2009, they've only gotten stronger, winning an overall majority in the 2011 Scottish Parliamentary elections (which is elected under PR) and despite the (shrinking) lead of the No side in the referendum, they remain by far the largest party in most polls. The party typically supports left-wing policies: since getting into power in 2007 they have abolished prescriptions charges within the NHS, abolished the graduate endowment (the closest that Scotland had to tuition fees) and in the budget passed with Labour support, funds discretionary housing benefits to practically abolish the bedroom tax in Scotland. This isn't to say that the party is perfect; the party would support Corporation Tax cuts in an independent Scotland: and made an awful deal with Donald Trump to build a golf course in Aberdeenshire, before scaring him off by building wind turbines nearby. In my opinion, its the closest that the UK has to a mainstream centre-left party, which is a shame. Despite this: the party can be said to be a coalition of traditional Scottish nationalists: anti-Labour voters in many parts of the highlands, former Liberal Democrats and students and many young voters. Many unionists vote for the SNP: the 41% support for the SNP is higher than most independence polls. The SNP are the single biggest difference between Scotland and the rUK. UKIP (and the BNP in 2009) were pretty much solely based on British nationalism which is exclusionary and right-wing; while the SNP prides itself on a more civic nationalism. It probably echoes the major difference between Scotland and the rest of the UK: British nationalism has no real support in Scotland. Last thing about the SNP: they are the largest member of the "European Free Alliance"; which is a European party that is made up of (predominantly centre-left) separatist parties. The only other members of this party with MEPs are Plaid Cymru (Wales); Galician Nationalists, the Party of the Consican Nation and the New Flemish Alliance (which is apparently Conservative so goes against the above). The European party is closely linked to the Greens: which very much fits the way that things work in the UK (the Scottish Greens support independence, and England Green MP Caroline Lucas works closely with the SNP/Plaid group in Westminster. Scottish Labour Current MEPs: 2 European Parliamentary Group: Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats Current Polls: 29% Scottish Labour won literally every national election in Scotland from the 1959 General Election to the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections. It used to be a joke that you could paint a rock red and stand it in Glasgow and it would win. This is a lot less true now than it was, and although they continue to dominate Westminster elections (holding 41 of Scotland's 59 Westminster seats and getting 42% of the vote) they've been beaten into second place in every election since then. The 2011 was embarrassing for Scottish Labour: losing some seats that it had held at every Scottish and General Election since 1918 - the gain of Glasgow Shettleston shocked those covering the election for the BBC. I've not seen any Scotland-specific referendum campaigning; and the UK party generally is reacting to the rise of UKIP which isn't really relevant in Scotland. In terms of national issues: I'd argue that the Labour party is now playing the role of the right-wing in many countries: Johann Lamont made a speech in late 2012 supporting a move away from universal benefits, and questioned the future of free university education in Scotland. In terms of core voters: Labour remain the biggest unionist party and generally are supported by anti-Tory and anti-SNP voters. Its also big amongst the working class because many still believe that it stands for them and have voted that way for years. Scottish Conservatives and Unionists Current MEPs: 1 European Parliamentary Group: European Conservatives and Reformists Current Polls: 13% The Scottish Tories are now comfortably the third party in Scotland, although its return from the political wilderness is not coming any time soon. It has tried to present itself as being renewed itself and trying to present itself as separate from the national Conservatives, but this doesn't seem to have worked as its support has unsurprisingly fallen since the election of the coalition nationally. It also elected the first openly-gay leader of any major national party in the UK after the 2011 elections in Ruth Davidson, but they could elect anyone they like and it wouldn't work unless they removed the second word of their name. I caught their PEB last night and it seems like they are trying to show themselves as being different from the national Conservatives with Europe being presented as a good thing, however they will struggle because of their links to the national Conservatives. They will probably get 1 MEP: although its no longer guaranteed and it is dependent on the UKIP surge in recent polls being diluted in Scotland. Scottish Liberal Democrats Current MEPs: 1 European Parliamentary Group: Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Current Polls: 5% The Scottish Lib Dems have never been fantastic in European elections, but since 2010, they have collapsed in every election since and may even finish sixth in the European elections. Their membership has collapsed: they lost the vast majority of their MSPs in 2011 and Councillors in 2012 and have no chance in holding onto their one MEP. The only thing worth talking about is the fact that their votes seem to have mostly moved to the SNP. The core Lib Dem vote are traditional Liberals in the highlands and islands: with the anti-Labour protest votes and students either going home to Labour or shifting to the SNP. Pretty much, their dead. UK Independence Party Current MEPs: 0 European Parliamentary Group: Currently Europe of Freedom and Democracy, but since they're apparently going tits up, then they might be left as Non-Inscrits. Current Polls: 6% UKIP are currently leading the European election polls in the UK, but in Scotland they are not doing very well. UKIP have stood in three Scottish parliament by-elections since the rise of Farage in 2012, and they have lost their deposit (got less than 5% of the vote) in all of them. They aren't helped by the continual gaffes in England turning more voters off, the fact that they are seen as Tories but worse and the fact that one of their candidates on the Scottish list is a total nutter (someone in the UKMT had that posted through their door: there are similar posters right down the main street in Glasgow) The only chances that they have is that they can outpoll the Tories and get their MEP. Of course; this may lead to the Greens (or the Lib Dems lol) getting an MEP due to vote splitting, but I don't see either of these as being likely. The Mail has reported UKIP being on 12% in Scotland: but that's a cross break of a national poll and so looking at it is practically meaningless as they don't consider the SNP in those. Scottish Greens Current MEPs: 0 European Parliamentary Group: The Greens–European Free Alliance Current Polls: I've not seen them listed: but they got 7% last time and I don't see that falling too much The Greens don't really have a huge chance at getting an MEP: but you never know which a potential vote splitting between the Tories and UKIP. I think that they will beat the Lib Dems, and although I don't think that they will beat UKIP they might run them close; especially with the chance of some student votes going to the Greens. They support a referendum on EU membership as a democratic right for the people and support making the EU more democratic. There's really nothing significant to say: other than Scotland and Wales are the only places in the UK where two parties of the same European group compete against each other for votes. British National Party Current MEPs: 0 European Parliamentary Group: None Current Polls: Somehow even lower than before The BNP have always been irrelevant in Scotland, and now that their leader is a bankrupt, there's a splitter party standing in Scotland and the rise of UKIP will get rid of much of their support. They've never had mass support in Scotland (they got 2.5% in 2009 Euros, that was their best), again because the nationalist vote sticks with the SNP because British nationalism is dead in Scotland. They'll hopefully finish second last, even if to show that fascism is not tolerated at all in Scotland. No2EU Current MEPs: 0 European Parliamentary Group: None as of yet, but if they somehow got an MEP then I'd imagine that they might work with the European United Left/Nordic Green Left. Current Polls: Hopefully better than the BNP Many look at their name and think "UKIP fragment"; but they actually attack the EU from the Left. The RMT formed the group along with Solidarity, the Communist Party of Britain, other assorted far-left parties and, for some reason, the remaining Liberal Party. They finished second last in the 2009 election because three other left-wing groups stood (The Scottish Socialists, and Socialist Labour who got 2% of the vote most of whom probably thought that they were voting for the Labour party). They are the only left party standing this time and; if they can actually get some feet on the ground and tell people that they are left-wing and not some weird group of racists they should be able to beat the BNP and finish third last (if you combine left parties, they would have got almost 4% in 2009 although as much as 1% of that could be confused Labour voters). I really can't see them getting an MEP though. Britain First Current MEPs: 0 European Parliamentary Group: they'd probably be pals with Jobbick and Golden Dawn Current Polls: Mebron Kernow would have more chance of getting an MEP in Scotland The BNP but worse. Wants "to save this country and our people from the EU, politically correct, multicultural insanity that is now engulfing us". Why they decided to waste their money standing in Scotland beats me. This is probably a really bad post: I am willing to amend it if people wish to critique parts of it. I personally think that we will end up with 3 SNP, 2 Labour, and 1 Tory although that depends on UKIP staying below 10%. I see the Tories as losing their one before the SNP lose their third though. IceAgeComing fucked around with this message at 16:45 on May 1, 2014 |
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May 1, 2014 15:49
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Alecto posted:You can vote for people who will join Tsipras's bloc, who will work with him and support him, just like almost every democracy in the world. In the case of the Netherlands, the International Socialists and Socialist Alternative. The difference between Europe and almost every democracy in the world is that you are not voting for one election program but for a very diverse block. If I vote for the national party of my choice I am implicitly voting for a block of about 40 parties with as many different programs. I sincerely do not have a clue what I am voting for, nobody does. Any of those 39 other parties can have views that are directly in conflict with mine. So we have 40 parties reaching a compromise of what to vote for in the parliament of which my MP's probably constitue 2-3% of overall influence. This block then has to reach a compromise with at least 1-2 other blocks, so add in another 80 parties in the mix, to gain a majority voting power in parliament and be able to actually achieve anything. Although anything too controversial can of course be vetoed again by the different national governments in the backroom meetings. The outcome of all this is that dualism is dead and we are in fact governed by unelected (European) civil servants and lobby groups. Not that I really mind, any other way would tear Europe apart because the interests of the member states are far too divergent and the nationalistic tendencies are simply too strong. But we really should stop with this expensive charade and job machine for political parties that's the European parliament. It's a joke.
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May 1, 2014 17:07
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Kurtofan posted:Can you vote for the Prime Minister of the Netherlands? Nope, and that's quite bad.
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May 1, 2014 17:08
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Orange Devil posted:Hey so I'm a European right, and I just read your OP, and this guy sounds alright. So how do I vote for him? You can't!  It's because the European Left fraction that he's heading doesn't have a member in the Netherlands. You'd think the SP would belong, but they're huddled with Schultz in the S&D.
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May 1, 2014 17:14
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