EU elections should focus on Europe, but they tend to be hijacked by national agendas. The 2024 election nights in France and Germany reveal who should take steps to make the elections more European.
by Sebastian Emde
Over 40 years ago, Karlheinz Reif and Hermann Schmitt described European elections as „second-order national elections„. Since then, much has changed: the European Parliament has gained power, and European policies have become more visible. However, EU elections still largely hinge on national debates. Many voters use them to rate their national politicians rather than to directly influence EU politics. This is a problem because European elections can only legitimize EU decision-making if they are held on EU-related issues. Conversely, a national focus encourages protest voting against domestic leaders, often supporting populist and anti-EU parties. Instead of blaming voters for casting „wrong“ votes, the spotlight should be on politicians and media, who promoted this highly nationalized perspective not only before, but also after the elections, as the cases of France and Germany illustrate.
The French President Who Stole the Elections
On the evening of the European elections, news spread like wildfire: French President Emmanuel Macron had reacted to the strong performance of the right-wing National Rally by dissolving the National Assembly and calling for snap parliamentary elections. Regardless of what were the motivations for this move, one fact is clear: Macron’s action diverted all attention to himself and French domestic politics. As French political scientist Erwan Lecoeur aptly noted, „[Macron] has just stolen the European elections.“ While opinions differ on whether Macron’s decision was responsible or not, the timing clearly reflects a “nation first, Europe second” attitude. When push comes to shove, the “great European” mask seems to hide nothing more than a French president.
German Opposition Trying to Shut off the “Traffic Light”
Across the Rhine, the German opposition also called for new national elections, taking Macron’s move as a precedent. “This government is basically finished,” Bavarian Minister President Markus Söder declared on German TV channel n-tv the morning after the election, “and it must now be similar to France: […] there should be new elections as soon as possible.” From a national perspective, hearing such demands from the opposition is not surprising. From a European perspective, however, it appears grotesque that the victorious European People’s Party (EPP), which will need support from Social Democrats, Liberals, and possibly Greens to elect its lead candidate for Commission President, is calling on these very parties to resign at the national level instead of seeking their support on the European stage.
German TV Discussing the Future of German Politics
The inappropriateness of political reactions to the EU elections might have gone unnoticed, given that much of the German media’s election night coverage was also heavily Germany-centric. Although the channel Phoenix reported live from the European Parliament with experts analysing events in terms of European policy, the main channels Das Erste and ZDF focused a lot on German domestic politics. The title of the high-level talk programme hosted by Caren Miosga succinctly captured the direction of German TV coverage: “Europe has voted – where is Germany heading?” Such framing confirms the perspective of those who use their vote to punish German leaders rather than engage with European issues.
Political Reporting as Usual on French TV
It is not surprising that French TV prioritizes French politics over EU politics, especially on the evening of the National Assembly’s dissolution. Nevertheless, it is telling that even on the one day every five years where all eyes should be on the EU, even on France 24, an international French TV channel known to be more open to European issues than others, and even in the two hours before Macron’s announcement, a national perspective clearly dominated the coverage of the election. For example, while French president Macron was mentioned 36 times and his prime minister Attal 8 times, Commission President Von der Leyen was mentioned only 3 times, with other heads of EU institutions not mentioned at all. No wonder that voters orient their votes towards familiar national politicians rather than European leaders they scarcely know.
National Politicians and Media Must Take Action
Although these observations are only snapshots which might hide positive developments over the past decades, they clearly show that European elections are still commonly discussed as referenda about domestic politics, both in politics and media. Of course, EU elections may impact national politics, and this should also be discussed. But timing and style are crucial. The reactions to the EU elections in France and Germany suggest that a large part of the responsibility for the national protest votes in the European elections lies with domestic politicians and media. In the future, they must explain the elections more extensively, contextualize them correctly, and emphasize the differences from domestic elections. This is what they can do to return the stolen European elections to EU democracy. It really needs them!
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Image via CC-BY-4.0: © European Union 2024 – Source : EP
Sebastian Emde is currently enrolled in a research master’s programme in European Studies at Maastricht University. Previously, he obtained a Franco-German bachelor’s degree in European Studies in Paderborn and Le Mans. His research focuses mainly on EU democracy, in particular on EU citizen participation.
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