It will be a grievous error if Europe’s leftist and centre-left parties attribute their poor performance in this month’s European parliament elections to the poor turnout of the voters. The turnout, at 43 per cent, marked a historic low, and it is likely that the working class and the lower middle class expressed their disillusionment with the parties they have traditionally supported. The refusal to vote was a statement of rejection and has political, economic and social dimensions.
The moderate political class got a drubbing across the European Union from Britain to Poland, and the conservative and xenophobic fringe groups made substantial gains. More than the performance of mainstream rightist parties, it is the rise in popularity of anti-immigrant and Euro-sceptic groups like Britain’s Independent Party and Austria’s Freedom Party that is a matter of concern. They champion ultra-nationalistic and even fascist ideas. They had an appeal in an environment created by the problems of economic recession. They succeeded in many countries because they projected the economic travails as a result of immigration and the welfarist policies advocated by the left and centre-left. Only in smaller countries like Denmark, Sweden and Slovakia did the social democrats make any impact in the polls.
The European electorate has in the past also swung to the right in times of economic distress. The liberal left’s solutions for the economic crisis, like increased role for the state and greater regulation of markets failed to impress the people. Policies take months to translate into results, and the prolongation of the distress helped the rightist parties to emotionally exploit the voters. Though the European parliament, with a decimated centre-right presence, will not be really representative of political Europe, it will be wrong to dismiss the vote an aberration. The liberal and democratic parties have to draw their lessons from the setback and impress on the people that the way forward for Europe is not by taking an intolerant and inward-looking view but by collectively working for humane and caring political and social systems.