Importance of Strategic Voting
But of course it is up to the voters to decide whether they want to make a choice of national influence or not, which supposes privileging political parties that have a high profile in the European Parliament.
The Danger of Abstention
Low turn out in the European elections also has a negative effect from the point of view of a country’s national influence either in Strasbourg or Brussels.
The abstentionists who choose to vote for representatives who are notably called to sit within influential groups in the European Parliament must be aware that their “non-vote” contributes towards weakening their country’s ability to influence events. within the European Parliament. Again, greater awareness that the European elections are not peripheral or secondary should encourage the electorate to assess the effect their choice will have.
The Importance of Strategic Voting
If the protest vote benefits the government parties on the opposition benches it can enhance their weight within influential groups within the European Parliament : this is what happened in France in 2004 with the high score achieved by the Socialist Party which enabled it to send 31 MEPs to Strasbourg and have the larger national delegation within the PES group.
The choice of the protest vote with regard to the national ruling parties or the construction of Europe is perfectly legitimate. But its effects in terms of national influence in the European Parliament should be stressed to a greater extent.
The importance of the “strategic vote” is all the more important since the European election, which is proportional, does not select the dominant parties alone.