On 8 and 9 June, the European Parliament will be renewed. There are many good reasons to go and vote. Let's try to understand what they are and why it is better to shake a bit and go to the polls than to keep your head under your pillow. Before examining them, however, it is useful to outline the situation.
According to Eurostat estimates, 359 million people in the 27 EU countries will be called to vote. The country with the largest number of voters is Germany (64.9 million). Italy (47 million) is in third place behind France (49.7). First time voters, the young people voting for the first time, will be around 20.9 million. In this segment too, the positions are unchanged: Germany holds the lead (5.1 million), followed by France (4 million) and Italy (2.8 million). The country where young people voting for the first time will have the greatest weight will be Belgium (9.7 per cent), then France (8 per cent) and Germany (7.9 per cent). In Italy, the incidence will be around 6 per cent. 720 new MEPs will be elected, 76 of them Italians. Dutch citizens will be the first to go to the polls on Thursday 6 June, followed by Irish citizens on Friday 7. In Italy, the voting booths will be open on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 June. The voting system is proportional, i.e. the number of elected members for each party will be defined according to the votes received. In Italy, the threshold for parties is set at 4 per cent. It will be possible to express three preferences of different gender, which is not the case in other countries.
Having said that, let us try to understand the reasons why it is right to go and vote. Let us try to identify four.
The first one
The first is undoubtedly to give a very firm and very clear response to the winds of war blowing across the continent. Regardless of the political positions on the responses to be given to the conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East, a massive turnout at the ballot box would give a sign of unity and participation that Europe sorely needs at the moment. Also in view of the fact that the fake news campaign that Moscow is developing to encourage absenteeism and anti-system forces risks causing deep wounds in the democratic fabric. In the 2019 elections, the party of non-voting was by far the winner, as the turnout was just over half of the eligible voters at 50.6 per cent.
The second one
The second reason why it is better to go and vote is to influence the choice of field that will profoundly mark the evolution of states in the next five years and consequently the future of the new generations: that between sovereignism and centralism. The political forces are divided into two large areas. On the one hand, the parties that make up the current government majority, first and foremost Fratelli d'Italia and Lega - Forza Italia's position diverges perceptibly on this issue - which propose a model that strengthens national sovereignty, leaving Europe a more defiladed role. On the other hand, the centre-left parties that, on the contrary, are in favour of ever greater surrenders of sovereignty to the continental institutions to the point of wishing for the transformation of the European Union into the United States of Europe.
The third one
The third reason concerns the policies to be put on the table to tackle climate change. Here again, the positions between the two macro areas are opposite. On the one hand, the Pd, Cinquestelle and the other centre-left forces that propose very radical intervention models to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, on the other the constellation of centre-right forces that view the green turn with suspicion and propose milder transformation policies in the name of economic sustainability.
The fourth one
The fourth reason, given how the election campaign is shaping up, is to take stock of the state of health of the political forces in Italy. It is no coincidence that all the leaders of the main parties - with the exception of Salvini, who preferred to rely on the controversial General Vannacci - have decided to take the field to measure themselves. It is clear that a strong affirmation of the centre-right would strengthen the government by making it clear what the balance of power within the majority is. And it is equally clear that an awakening in terms of consensus of the centre-left would have the effect of questioning the policies pursued by the executive and lay the foundations for a change of course. The polls at the moment seem to indicate a prevalence of government forces. Much will depend on what the representatives of the first party will decide: that of those who prefer to keep their heads under the pillow.
Illustration by Gloria Dozio - Acrimònia Studios
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