THE 2024 EUROPEAN CAMPAIGN IN GERMANY. STILL “SECOND ORDER” ELECTIONS?
Abstract
The tenth direct European elections were held in 2024, with citizens from all member states of the European Union involved. Despite the well-established tradition of European campaigns, the perception that this vote is of little importance and secondary is embedded in the academic political discourse. Several provisions of the concept of second-order national elections are often cited as evidence. According to its proponents, the secondary vote is traditionally characterized by low turnout, setbacks for governing political parties, a high percentage of invalid ballots, and broad prospects for various small, new, populist, radical, or protest parties. This paper aims to assess the applicability of the concept to the 2024 campaign for the European Parliament in Germany. The article employs statistical data making it possible to compare the results of first-order (Bundestag) and second-order (European Parliament) elections. These data relate to turnout, protest voting, and the results of all the country’s main political parties. Special attention is attached to the key elements of the legal and institutional transformation of the European Parliament, as well as the political issues and intra-party crises that influenced the election results. The article concludes by saying that one may detect a definite trend over the last three (2014, 2019, 2024) campaigns, concerning both a gradual increase in citizens’ interest in voting for the European Parliament and a decrease in the percentage of spoiled ballots. Nevertheless, in some respects, the 2024 elections can still be regarded as second-class. For example, turnout in 2024 was significantly lower than in the preceding 2021 federal campaign, while members of the ruling Traffic Light coalition, which is in the second half of its term, were unsuccessful. Protest voting for both Eurosceptics and Eurooptimists was also evident. Finally, the combination of economic, energy, foreign policy and migration issues, as well as the systemic crisis of the Left party, weighed heavily.
About the Author
ALENA LISENKOVA
North-West Institute of Management – branch of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
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LISENKOVA A. THE 2024 EUROPEAN CAMPAIGN IN GERMANY. STILL “SECOND ORDER” ELECTIONS?. International Trends / Mezhdunarodnye protsessy. :1-20. (In Russ.)
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