'In the Shadow of Brexit: The 2019 European Parliament Elections as First-Order Polity Elections?

TY - JOUR

T1 - 'In the Shadow of Brexit: The 2019 European Parliament Elections as First-Order Polity Elections?

AU - Trenz, Hans-Jörg

AU - Galpin, Charlotte

PY - 2019/10/1

Y1 - 2019/10/1

N2 - European Parliament (EP) elections have traditionally been described as ‘second-order national elections' in which campaigns are fought by national parties on national issues. We argue that the 2019 elections should instead be considered ‘first-order polity' elections. It is not EU-level party politics or policy issues that are debated, but rather the legitimacy of the EU itself. Firstly, the EP elections have transformed into an EU ‘blame game' in which national governments are punished or rewarded over their stance on European integration. Secondly, the 2019 election was about the EU's fundamental values, not only with respect to multiculturalism, but also gender equality and LGBTQ rights. Finally, these first-order polity elections are driven in large part by traditional news and social media platforms. While this is a long way from the patterns of the early EP elections, they still fail in fulfilling the function of holding MEPs and European party groupings adequately to account.

AB - European Parliament (EP) elections have traditionally been described as ‘second-order national elections' in which campaigns are fought by national parties on national issues. We argue that the 2019 elections should instead be considered ‘first-order polity' elections. It is not EU-level party politics or policy issues that are debated, but rather the legitimacy of the EU itself. Firstly, the EP elections have transformed into an EU ‘blame game' in which national governments are punished or rewarded over their stance on European integration. Secondly, the 2019 election was about the EU's fundamental values, not only with respect to multiculturalism, but also gender equality and LGBTQ rights. Finally, these first-order polity elections are driven in large part by traditional news and social media platforms. While this is a long way from the patterns of the early EP elections, they still fail in fulfilling the function of holding MEPs and European party groupings adequately to account.

U2 - 10.1111/1467-923x.12768

DO - 10.1111/1467-923x.12768

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0032-3179

JO - The Political Quarterly

JF - The Political Quarterly

ER -