Jay Doubleyou: european elections: euroscepticism across the continent
it seems that Germany also has its Eurosceptics:
German Eurosceptics gain votes in blow for Angela Merkel
New Eurosceptic party Alternative for Germany gained ground, winning seven seats
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling Christian Democrats have been dealt an embarrassing blow by Germany’s new Eurosceptic party which won seven percent of the vote in the European election, putting the party on course to enter national parliament for the first time.
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) , which wants Europe’s crisis countries, including Greece and France, to leave the Eurozone and aims to retrieve powers from Brussels, won seven seats in the European parliament and hopes to co-operate with Britain’s Conservatives.
Bernd Lucke, the AfD’s economics professor leader told jubilant supporters in Berlin on Sunday after his party’s success: “ The established parties are the losers in this election because they failed to address citizens’ concerns and problems. We are the new party of the people in Germany,” he declared.
Post election analysis showed that the AfD owed its most of its success to former Christian Democrat voters who switched their allegiance to the new eurosceptic party, which could enter Germany’s national parliament for the first time if its popularity continues. The party also won support from sections of the electorate which normally don’t vote.
For the first time, Mrs Merkel now finds herself confronted with a conservative political opponent which is both growing in strength and at loggerheads with her policies on Europe. Her party remained Germany’s biggest political force in polling on Sunday but her Social Democrat coalition partners made significant gains.
An interview with one of the AfD party candidates:
German AfD candidate: 'The EU is upside down'
25/05/2014 - 14:01
!["Switzerland is for referenda. So are we." The Eurosceptic Alternative for Germany (AfD) could win up to 7% in the European elections on 25 May. [Patrick Timmann]](http://jpg.euractiv.com/files/styles/x-large/public/afd_schweiz_pat_0.jpg?itok=WFZmtcPE ""Switzerland is for referenda. So are we." The Eurosceptic Alternative for Germany (AfD) could win up to 7% in the European elections on 25 May. [Patrick Timmann]")
"Switzerland is for referenda. So are we." The Eurosceptic Alternative for Germany (AfD) could win up to 7% in the European elections on 25 May. [Patrick Timmann]
A new decision-making structure, less EU level competences, and Latin as the official language in Brussels are just some improvements Beatrix von Storch says would help turn the EU right-side up.
Beatrix von Storch is fourth on the list of the Eurosceptic Alternative for Germany’s (AfD) candidate list for the 2014 European elections. If the AfD reaches 7%, as current opinion polls predict, she could win a seat in the European Parliament. She spoke with EurActiv Germany’s Patrick Timmann.
Where on the political spectrum would you categorise the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party?
That is not so easy. On many topics, our positions overlap with those of various other parties. I recently attended an event with European Commission President José Manuel Barroso. There were anti-Fascists in the back of the room chanting slogans like "Stop the Troika!". I can agree with them on that, for instance. The anti-Fascists reject austerity policy imposed by national representatives and a Troika that is not elected, and the AfD is doing that as well.
But for completely different reasons.
Yes and no. I consider the undemocratic regulation of policy through the Troika to be wrong. We see how brutal austerity policy is harming the people in Greece. Now it is primarily about interest earnings and redemption sums for creditors to generate profits on the backs of the people. We clearly reject this. Whether this position is left or right, I do not know. It is just correct.
And from the Economist today:
Germany's European elections
Germany gets a real Alternative
First, the losers. Most obviously, these include Germany's once-grand liberal party, the Free Democrats (FDP). They continued their slide into irrelevance, getting a mere 3.4% of the vote, compared with 11% in 2009. They are no longer a factor in German politics for the time being.
Less obviously, the losers also include the nominal victors: the centre-right camp of Angela Merkel, the chancellor. It is composed of Mrs Merkel's party, the Christian Democrats (CDU), and its Bavarian sister party, the CSU. With 35.3% of votes, this "union" of the two remains Germany's largest delegation to Strasbourg. But it did worse than in 2009, when it got 37.9%. In domestic politics, this counts as a setback. Almost all of the loss, moreover, occurred in Bavaria, where the the CSU had dabbled in soft-Eurosceptic innuendo during the campaign.
The main winner is the closest thing Germany has to a Eurosceptic party, the one-year old Alternative for Germany, led by Bernd Lucke, an economics professor (pictured above introducing his Strasbourg team a few hours ago). The Alternative claims to be only anti-euro, not anti-EU. Mr Lucke says he wants no part in a coalition with actual Eurosceptics in Strasbourg and will instead start talks with Britains Tories and other conservative parties. But even this milder form of anti-Brussels rhetoric marks a permanent change in Germany, where such talk has been taboo until now. The Alternative got 7%. It now has a good chance of entering state parliaments in Saxony, Brandenburg or Thuringia in their regional elections this summer. It could even enter the federal Bundestag in 2017. The mainstream parties can no longer simply ignore it.
Less obviously, the losers also include the nominal victors: the centre-right camp of Angela Merkel, the chancellor. It is composed of Mrs Merkel's party, the Christian Democrats (CDU), and its Bavarian sister party, the CSU. With 35.3% of votes, this "union" of the two remains Germany's largest delegation to Strasbourg. But it did worse than in 2009, when it got 37.9%. In domestic politics, this counts as a setback. Almost all of the loss, moreover, occurred in Bavaria, where the the CSU had dabbled in soft-Eurosceptic innuendo during the campaign.
The main winner is the closest thing Germany has to a Eurosceptic party, the one-year old Alternative for Germany, led by Bernd Lucke, an economics professor (pictured above introducing his Strasbourg team a few hours ago). The Alternative claims to be only anti-euro, not anti-EU. Mr Lucke says he wants no part in a coalition with actual Eurosceptics in Strasbourg and will instead start talks with Britains Tories and other conservative parties. But even this milder form of anti-Brussels rhetoric marks a permanent change in Germany, where such talk has been taboo until now. The Alternative got 7%. It now has a good chance of entering state parliaments in Saxony, Brandenburg or Thuringia in their regional elections this summer. It could even enter the federal Bundestag in 2017. The mainstream parties can no longer simply ignore it.
Germany's European elections: Germany gets a real Alternative | The Economist
A nice report from the BBC earlier this month:
BBC News - German Euroscepticism - a milder variety
And more details from the German press in English today:
Eurosceptics and SPD celebrate EU vote gains - The Local
SIDEBAR German eurosceptic party enters European Parliament By Jean-Baptiste Piggin, dpa | EUROPE ONLINE
German AfD tries to shake off 'Tea Party' tag | Germany | DW.DE | 21.05.2014
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