Elections in Europe: December 2020 — May 2021
Elections in Europe: December 2020 — May 2021
Scientific Council
Prof. Dr. Sylvia Kritzinger, Prof. Dr. Marc Swyngedouw, Prof. Dr. Michal Kubát, Prof. Dr. Marc Debus, Prof. Dr. Rune Stubager, Prof. Dr. Piret Ehin, Prof. Dr. Irene Martín Cortés, Prof. Dr. Hanna Wass, Prof. Dr. Bruno Cautrès, Prof. Dr. Pierre Martin, Prof. Dr. Theodore Chadjipandelis, Prof. Dr. Goran Čular, Prof. Dr. Gábor Tóka, Dr. Lorenzo Castellani, Prof. Dr. Diego Garzia, Prof. Dr. Ainė Ramonaitė, Prof. Dr. Philippe Poirier, Prof. Dr. Jānis Ikstens, Prof. Dr. Mark Harwood, Prof. Dr. Jacek Wojnicki, Prof. Dr. Marina Costa Lobo, Dr. Sorina Cristina Soare, Prof. Dr. Maria Oskarson, Prof. Dr. Alenka Krašovec, Prof. Dr. Olga Gyárfášova, Dr. Arjan Schakel
Directors of Publication
Gilles Gressani
Editor-in-Chief
François Hublet
Scientific Advisor
Nicolas Leron
Editorial Team
Jean-Sébastien F. Arrighi, Jean-Toussaint Battestini, Lucie Coatleven, Adrian Fraus, Armand Hodar, Charlotte Kleine, Sofia Marini, Donovan Maréchal Pérez, Théophile Rospars, Johanna Schleyer, Victor Queudet
The Continental Review
What is European politics?
To this question, which is all too rarely asked, it seems tempting to answer that European politics is above all the politics of the European Union, the politics of Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg, the politics of the European Semesters, the politics of the summits and the politics of the treaties: the politics of the supranational … Continued
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The Continental Review
Introduction The increasing interconnectedness of European politics requires a good knowledge of the political dynamics not only in the member states and their regions, but also beyond them, in the EU’s neighbourhood. In the constant flow of information and news, it becomes surprisingly easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. This first issue of … Continued
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Elections in the European Union
Parliamentary Election in Romania, 6 December 2020
On 6 December, Romanians went to the polls in the parliamentary election to elect both chambers of Parliament (Senat et Camera Deputaţilor). The Social Democratic Party (PSD, S&D, conservative left) came first with 29.32% of the vote, followed by the National Liberal Party (PNL, EPP) with 25.58%. The USR-Plus Alliance (RE) came third with 15.86% … Continued
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Presidential Election in Portugal, 24 January 2021
The presidential election in Portugal happened at a time where each electoral event is under particular scrutiny, in search of signals portending the political future, the resilience of the democratic institutions, the viability of the different partisan alternatives and the gap between voters and the democratic system, as depicted by the abstention rate. In a … Continued
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Parliamentary Election in Catalonia, 14 February 2021 (I)
Catalonia held its thirteenth election to the Catalan Parliament amid the COVID pandemic, and after years in which the conflict between pro-independence parties and successive Spanish governments has dominated and polarized the political agenda. With a very low turnout, the election results show record support for left-wing parties and a plurality for pro-independence parties. The … Continued
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Parliamentary Election in Catalonia, 14 February 2021 (II)
The Catalan parliamentary election of 14 February 2021 have been held in the atmosphere of health concerns associated with the Covid-19 pandemic and a growing socioeconomic anxiety following the prolonged lockdown measures. This added to the ongoing political stalemate which has resulted from eight years of the nationalist pursuit of independence and a legal and … Continued
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Parliamentary Election in Baden-Württemberg, 14 March 2021
Introduction and context In 2021, several important elections are due to be held in Germany. Besides the federal election which will take place in September, five state elections will be organised. In this so-called “super election year,” the first two regional elections were held in the Western states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg. In the months … Continued
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Parliamentary Election in Rhineland-Palatinate, 14 March 2021
Voting in 2021 On 14 March 2021, the so-called “super election year” kicked off in Germany. On that Sunday, the citizens of Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg elected their representatives in their respective state parliaments — Saxony-Anhalt, Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania will follow later in the year. Likewise, the election for the 20th German Bundestag will take … Continued
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Parliamentary Election in the Netherlands, 17 March 2021
Introduction In 2021, the Dutch voters elected the most fractionalized parliament in Dutch history. In this fractionalized landscape the centre-right coalition retained its majority. The coalition benefited from popular support for its corona policy and did not pay an electoral price for the child benefit scandal that caused the government to step down three months … Continued
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Parliamentary Election in Bulgaria, 4 April 2021
On April 4, 2021, the eleventh parliamentary elections since the beginning of democratization took place in Bulgaria. 6,789 million officially registered voters were asked to elect candidates from 30 parties and coalitions for the 45th National Assembly. The elections were conducted according the proportional representation system with a single preference option and four percentage threshold. … Continued
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Parliamentary Election in the Community of Madrid, 4 May 2021
The regional elections of May 4, 2021 in the Autonomous Community of Madrid, a single-province autonomous region and the political and economic capital of the country, have been the most influential political event of this season in Spain. The uncontested victory of the Partido Popular candidate, Isabel Díaz Ayuso (Madrid, 1978), marks a new change … Continued
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Parliamentary Election in Cyprus, 30 May 2021 (I)
On 30 May 2021, the 12th Parliamentary Elections since the island’s independence took place in the Republic of Cyprus (RoC). Parliamentary elections in Cyprus are traditionally of lower importance compared to the Presidential elections, since the President of the Republic wields executive power. Despite their lower salience, the Parliamentary elections are still considered a crucial … Continued
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Parliamentary Election in Cyprus, 30 May 2021 (II)
The territorial framework A British colony until 1960, the island of Cyprus experienced an “intercommunal” conflict which led to its partition in 1974. Despite a dozen rounds of negotiations since then, the conflict is “frozen” without a lasting solution (Bertrand, 2017). The island is thus divided into: A southern zone representing 58% of the territory, … Continued
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Elections in candidate and EFTA states
Parliamentary Election in Albania, 25 April 2021
Context of the vote On 25 April, Albania held its 10th consecutive parliamentary elections in the post-communist period. The first elections took place in 1991 and were won by a landslide majority by the ruling communists, followed by snap elections in 1992 which saw a sweeping victory of the Democratic Party (alb. PD). Meanwhile, the … Continued
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Special analyses
Parliamentary Election in Scotland, 6 May 2021
Comparing the party composition of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) sworn in this month to the one elected five years ago, little looks to have changed. Vote shares barely shifted versus 2016, and none of the five main parties gained or lost more than two seats in the country’s 129 Member legislature, which is elected using … Continued
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Special dossier: Elections in Germany in September 2021
Interview with Norbert Lammert (Konrad Adenauer Foundation, CDU)
How do you imagine the EU in the year 2030? Where do you believe is reform most needed? Which amendments to the Treaties would you propose? I generally find it difficult to predict the future — no one can reliably predict what will happen tomorrow — especially not in the European Union, where every substantial … Continued
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Interview with Martin Schulz (Friedrich Ebert Foundation, SPD)
How do you imagine the EU in the year 2030? Where do you believe is reform most needed? Which amendments to the Treaties would you propose? In the Coronavirus pandemic, after initial difficulties, the EU proved to be quite capable of acting, having learned from its mistakes during the financial crisis. At the same time, … Continued
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Interview with Ellen Ueberschär (Heinrich Böll Foundation, Greens)
How do you imagine the EU in the year 2030? Where do you believe is reform most needed? Which amendments to the Treaties would you propose? The European Union of the year 2030 will be invigorated by the crises of the 2020s. The Conference on the Future of Europe will have provided it with new … Continued
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