Word: parliament
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Europeans often grumble that the European Union is run by anonymous apparatchiks. Surely they're not referring to Prince Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, grandson of Italy's last King, who is campaigning for this week's European Parliament elections. Or to Rickard Falkvinge, the founder of Sweden's Pirate Party, whose campaign rallying cry is for free file-sharing over the Internet. Or to Elena Basescu, a.k.a. Romania's Paris Hilton - the flashy It girl, who happens to be the daughter of the Romanian President, also wants to become...
...With candidates like these, it's easy to forget that the European Parliament shapes Europe's policies on vital issues like climate change, banking rules and immigration law. Yet when elections roll around every five years, the august body can feel like a free-for-all for fringes, freaks and fanatics. (See pictures of how climate change is affecting Europe...
...Between June 4 and 7, some 375 million Europeans will be entitled to cast votes to elect a new, 736-member Parliament. However, a survey earlier this year found that only 34% of eligible voters are likely to do so. This apathy spurs the rise of the mavericks: since most Europeans still do not know who their MEPs are or what they do, they use their votes instead to punish incumbents. (Read "Why So Few Care About the European Parliament Elections...
...Voters think the stakes are lower than in national elections - or, at any rate, less clear," says Hugo Brady of the Center for European Reform think tank. "Moreover, the Parliament can often seem distant because few voters know what it actually does. And even if they do, the areas where the Parliament exercises most influence seem technical and dull...
...mainstream parties are outflanked, they often have themselves to blame. In many countries, the European Parliament is seen as a Siberia for politicians whose day is done in the national arena - hence the decision by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to send his glamorous justice minister Rachida Dati to the assembly because of her high-handed management style and the gossip surrounding her clothes and private life. (See pictures of Sarkozy...