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View Full Version : Conservatives post big gains in Europe.



Okla-homey
6/7/2009, 08:00 PM
Shades of 2012 in the US?


BRUSSELS (AP) – Conservatives raced toward victory in some of Europe's largest economies Sunday as initial results and exit polls showed voters punishing left-leaning parties in European parliament elections in France, Germany and elsewhere.

Some right-leaning parties said the results vindicated their reluctance to spend more on company bailouts and fiscal stimulus amid the global economic crisis.

First projections by the European Union showed center-right parties would have the most seats — between 263 and 273 — in the 736-member parliament. Center-left parties were expected to get between 155 to 165 seats.

Right-leaning governments were ahead of the opposition in Germany, France, Italy and Belgium, while conservative opposition parties were leading in Britain and Spain.

Greece was a notable exception, where the governing conservatives were headed for defeat in the wake of corruption scandals and economic woes.

Germany's Social Democrats headed to their worst showing in a nationwide election since World War II. Four months before Germany holds its own national election, the outcome boosted conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel's hopes of ending the tense left-right "grand coalition" that has led the European Union's most populous nation since 2005.

"We are the force that is acting level-headedly and correctly in this financial and economic crisis," said Volker Kauder, the leader of Merkel's party in the German parliament.

France's Interior Ministry said partial results showed the governing conservatives in the lead, with the Socialists in a distant second and the Europe Ecologie environmentalist party a close third.

French Socialists said their defeat signaled a need to rethink left-wing policies if they are to have any hope of unseating President Nicolas Sarkozy.

An EU estimate showed that only 43 percent of 375 million eligible voters cast ballots in European parliament elections, a record low amid widespread disenchantment with the continentwide legislature.

The EU parliament has evolved over five decades from a consultative legislature to one with the power to vote on or amend two-thirds of all EU laws. Lawmakers get five-year terms and residents vote for lawmakers from their own countries.

Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands and five other EU nations cast ballots over the last three days, while the rest of the 27-nation bloc voted Sunday.

"Tonight is a very difficult evening for Socialists in many nations in Europe," Martin Schulz, the leader of the Socialists in the European Parliament, told party faithful in Brussels via video link from Berlin. "(We will) continue to fight for social democracy in Europe."

Many Socialists ran campaigns that slammed center-right leaders for failing to rein in financial markets and spend enough to stimulate faltering economies.

Graham Watson, leader of the EU's center-right Liberal Democrat grouping, said early results suggested a rejection of the Socialist approach.

"People don't want a return to socialism and that's why the majority here will be a center-right majority," he said.

In Spain, the conservative Popular Party won two more seats than the ruling Socialists — 23 to 21 seats — with over 88 percent of the vote counted.

Exit polls also showed gains for far-right groups and other fringe parties due to record low turnout.

Britain elected its first extreme-right politician to the European Parliament, with the British National Party winning a seat in northern England's Yorkshire and the Humber district.

The far-right party, which does not accept nonwhites as members, was expected to possibly win further seats as more results in Britain were announced.

Lawmakers with Britain's major political parties said the far right's advance was a reflection of anger over immigration issues and the recession that is causing unemployment to soar.

Near-final results showed Austria's main rightist party gaining strongly while the ruling Social Democrats lost substantial ground. The big winner in Austria was the rightist Freedom Party, which more than doubled its strength over the 2004 elections to 13.1 percent of the vote. It campaigned on an anti-Islam platform.

In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders' anti-Islamic party took 17 percent of the country's votes, taking four of 25 seats.

The Hungarian far-right Jobbik party won three of 22 seats, with the main center-right opposition party, Fidesz, capturing 14 seats and the governing Socialists only four.

Jobbik describes itself as Euro-skeptic and anti-immigration and wants police to crack down on petty crimes committed by Gypsies. Critics say the party is racist and anti-Semitic.

Fringe groups could use the EU parliament as a platform for their extreme views but were not expected to affect the assembly's increasingly influential lawmaking on issues ranging from climate change to cell-phone roaming charges.

The parliament can also amend the EU budget — euro120 billion ($170 billion) this year — and approves candidates for the European Commission, the EU administration and the board of the European Central Bank.

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi's Freedom People's Party held a two-digit lead over his main center-left rival in the most recent polling despite a deep recession and a scandal over allegations he had an inappropriate relationship with a young model. Italian results were being released Monday.

In Britain, Prime Minister Gordon Brown was facing a showdown with rebel lawmakers on Monday after the party's expected dismal results in the European parliament and local elections were announced.

Brown has been struggling with the economic crisis and a scandal over lawmakers' expenses. The opposition Conservatives are expected to win the next national election, which must be called by June 2010.

An exit poll in Sweden showed the Pirate Party, which advocates shortening the duration of copyright protection and allowing noncommercial file-sharing, capturing one seat with 7.4 percent of the vote.

___

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090607/ap_on_re_eu/european_elections

AggieTool
6/7/2009, 09:02 PM
You are aware that a European conservative is to the left of Obama politically.:confused:

jiminy
6/7/2009, 11:10 PM
You are aware that a European conservative is to the left of Obama politically.:confused:


"People don't want a return to socialism and that's why the majority here will be a center-right majority," he said.

Not really

Collier11
6/7/2009, 11:39 PM
he isnt very educated about most the ****e he posts

Dio
6/8/2009, 10:00 AM
You are aware that Hugo Chavez is to the right of Obama politically.:confused:

Fixed, per Hugo Chavez himself.

OklahomaTuba
6/8/2009, 10:16 AM
You are aware that a European conservative is to the left of Obama politically.:confused:

Hardly.


"Hey, Obama has just nationalized nothing more and nothing less than General Motors. Comrade Obama! Fidel, careful or we are going to end up to his right,"

OklahomaTuba
6/8/2009, 10:23 AM
Mike Leach should think about starting a political party me thinks.


An exit poll in Sweden showed the Pirate Party, which advocates shortening the duration of copyright protection and allowing noncommercial file-sharing, capturing one seat with 7.4 percent of the vote.

Crucifax Autumn
6/8/2009, 10:25 AM
Back to the OP, regardless of what happens in Europe I hope there never comes a day when we actively follow European political lead!

Crucifax Autumn
6/8/2009, 10:26 AM
Mike Leach should think about starting a political party me thinks.

Arrrrrr Matey!

Octavian
6/8/2009, 10:26 AM
the BBC is in an apoplectic state of shock


imagine the sadness from the ESPN talking heads if T<3bow and Urban Meyer got caught blowin lines with co-eds in a Gainesville motel room...and that's kinda where the BBC's bloggers and contributors are at right about now


worst showing for Labour since horses and buggies dominated the streets of London...

King Crimson
6/8/2009, 10:42 AM
part of the iffiness with right-wing Euro style is that "racially pure" thing starts to crop up.

OklahomaTuba
6/8/2009, 10:46 AM
What's going on in Britain right now is stunning. Labor & the GOP have a lot in common these days, it seems.

But I guess events such as the economic crash will cause things like that to happen.

Okla-homey
6/8/2009, 11:03 AM
I'm reminded of that scene in Coming to America when Eddie's character gives a bunch of money to the disgraced brothers from Trading Places..."Mortimer, we're baaaack!":D

JohnnyMack
6/8/2009, 11:10 AM
Everything is cyclical. Somebody told me once that we live in center-right world. I tend to agree.

soonerscuba
6/8/2009, 11:54 AM
The problem that conservatives in Europe have is that because of the parlimentary system they are forced to form broad coalitions, and if you accept parties which don't accept minorities or base their platform on the rejection of a religion, you pay for it.

It's fun to pretend that centuries of nationalism won't rear it's ugly head, but this is Europe and a tiger don't change it's stripes, they'll torpedo themselves as the result of racism, anti-immigration frever, or cultural purity like they always do. Ssee the run-off between Chirac and LePen a few years ago as an example.

TUSooner
6/8/2009, 01:09 PM
I hope that news is as good as it seems, but I also wonder if the "shift" is simply a reaction against whoever's been in power. Maybe?
I think the bottom line is that party ideology is becoming less important as many people reject labels and slogans and simply want government that works and doesn't **** everybody over while blowing the national wealth on foolishness. It's a balancing act, and even the electorate doesn't know exactly where the balancing point is (or even what it means to say that a government "works"). Expect wobbling.

soonerscuba
6/8/2009, 01:14 PM
I hope that news is as good as it seems, but I also wonder if the "shift" is simply a reaction against whoever's been in power. Maybe?
I think the bottom line is that party ideology is becoming less important as many people reject labels and slogans and simply want government that works and doesn't **** everybody over while blowing the national wealth on foolishness. It's a balancing act, and even the electorate doesn't know exactly where the balancing point is (or even what it means to say that a government "works"). Expect wobbling.I also think that Labour in Britain is getting hammered because of corruption moreso than some grand awakening to Conservative principles, Gordon Brown is in deep, deep trouble and it might be rubbing off. That said, I think one can reasonably asertain that people are doing in Europe what we did here, punishing those in charge for a terrible economy, fair or not.

OklahomaTuba
6/8/2009, 01:37 PM
It sure seems to me that a lot of folks I know over there are getting fed up with the flood of immigrants from Muslim countries. The term "Eurabia" is no joke.

But mostly I would say that folks are pretty sick of supporting million's of people who sit around on their arses collecting their welfare checks and cradle to grave entitlements while people like Gordon Brown soak those who actually produce something with more and more taxes and less and less economic freedoms.

Thank Goodness that won't be happening here!!! Oh, wait...

JohnnyMack
6/8/2009, 01:41 PM
It sure seems to me that a lot of folks I know over there are getting fed up with the flood of immigrants from Muslim countries. The term "Eurabia" is no joke.

But mostly I would say that folks are pretty sick of supporting million's of people who sit around on their arses collecting their welfare checks and cradle to grave entitlements while people like Gordon Brown soak those who actually produce something with more and more taxes and less and less economic freedoms.

Thank Goodness that won't be happening here!!! Oh, wait...

Kinda reminds me of NINA. But whatever.

soonerscuba
6/8/2009, 01:52 PM
Am I the only one who finds the concept of Europe beguiling an impending cultural movement as a destrucive force upon their culture the height of irony?

AggieTool
6/8/2009, 02:05 PM
he isnt very educated about most the ****e he posts

Really oh edumucated one....:rolleyes:

Has the thought occurred to you that conservative European parties exist within a highly socialized framework that they are part of. Their debates are over how to improve their socialized, single-payer healthcare systems, as opposed to our debate over whether to even have one.

Many of the social and political issues that we fight over in the US have already been conclusively settled in Europe decades ago- and almost all of them have come down on the left side.

And then there's this...

http://www.conservatives.com/Policy.aspx

"We must recognise that we are much stronger working through NATO, the UN, or the G8 than when acting alone, and that our moral authority is vital to our success."

Hardly a right-wing virtue here in the U.S.

A goober commenting on someone's education...:D

Priceless...

Collier11
6/8/2009, 02:19 PM
Really oh edumucated one....:rolleyes:

Has the thought occurred to you that conservative European parties exist within a highly socialized framework that they are part of. Their debates are over how to improve their socialized, single-payer healthcare systems, as opposed to our debate over whether to even have one.

Many of the social and political issues that we fight over in the US have already been conclusively settled in Europe decades ago- and almost all of them have come down on the left side.

And then there's this...

http://www.conservatives.com/Policy.aspx

"We must recognise that we are much stronger working through NATO, the UN, or the G8 than when acting alone, and that our moral authority is vital to our success."

Hardly a right-wing virtue here in the U.S.

A goober commenting on someone's education...:D

Priceless...

:eddie:

I Am Right
6/8/2009, 02:23 PM
As our economy goes down the toilet, thank you Mr Obama.

Collier11
6/8/2009, 02:27 PM
I didnt vote for Obama but I wouldnt go that far...he is only making it worse, unfortunately all the politicians had a hand in this before he got there.

JLEW1818
6/8/2009, 02:35 PM
me still don't get his motive

JohnnyMack
6/8/2009, 02:42 PM
me still don't get his motive

The enslavement of the white race. Keep up.

AggieTool
6/8/2009, 02:49 PM
The enslavement of the white race. Keep up.

:D

JLEW1818
6/8/2009, 02:59 PM
i knew it!

Curly Bill
6/8/2009, 03:00 PM
i knew it!

Why do you think the rest of us Whitey's are buying up semi-autos and ammo? I'd have let you in on it, but you would have just been more competition. ;)

JLEW1818
6/8/2009, 03:03 PM
think obama has ever shot a gun?

Curly Bill
6/8/2009, 03:08 PM
Doubt it.

AggieTool
6/8/2009, 03:25 PM
think obama has ever shot a gun?

Hmmmm....

Do you think Charlton Heston ever got a Harvard Law degree?:confused:

AggieTool
6/8/2009, 03:32 PM
Hmmmm....

Do you think Charlton Heston ever got a Harvard Law degree?:confused:


Doubt it.

:D

Condescending Sooner
6/8/2009, 03:33 PM
Hmmmm....

Do you think Charlton Heston ever got a Harvard Law degree?:confused:

Let's see, George Bush had a degree from Yale and an MBA from Harvard, yet according to the liberals, it was immaterial and he was a complete idiot? Can't have it both ways.

Out of curiosity, were Obama's grades in high school really high enough to get accepted into Harvard? How did he pay for his tuition?

AggieTool
6/8/2009, 03:59 PM
Let's see, George Bush had a degree from Yale and an MBA from Harvard, yet according to the liberals, it was immaterial and he was a complete idiot?

Yeah daddy had nothing to do with that.:D

And he is an idiot, but not a complete one.;)


Out of curiosity, were Obama's grades in high school really high enough to get accepted into Harvard? How did he pay for his tuition?

Don't know 'bout grades. But I guess they were good enough not to run an oil company, a baseball team, a sovereign nation, and an economy into the ground.(yet):rolleyes:

Collier11
6/8/2009, 04:07 PM
The Rangers were good under GW and if he ran this country into the ground, you better give some credit to your boys whose approval rating was worse than his

Collier11
6/8/2009, 04:08 PM
Hmmmm....

Do you think Charlton Heston ever got a Harvard Law degree?:confused:

My ability to shoot a gun and my weekly viewing of Man Vs. Wild and Survivor Man will serve me better than his Harvard Law degree when the apocalypse begins :D

Curly Bill
6/8/2009, 04:10 PM
My ability to shoot a gun and my weekly viewing of Man Vs. Wild and Survivor Man will serve me better than his Harvard Law degree when the apocalypse begins :D

Yeah but affirmative action says you'll have to use your skills to help Brack.

Collier11
6/8/2009, 04:12 PM
No, No, No, affirmative action says that if we are equally qualified to live, I will have to give up my life so he can keep his...get it straight ;)

Curly Bill
6/8/2009, 04:14 PM
No, No, No, affirmative action says that if we are equally qualified to live, I will have to give up my life so he can keep his...get it straight ;)

...but you've held a real job at some point in your life, out of the two of you I say we keep you. ;)

soonerscuba
6/8/2009, 04:14 PM
Obama went to Occidental out of high school for 2 years, transferred to Columbia, then went to Harvard for law school. His grades in high school are immaterial to his time at Harvard. I think people should realize that Obama was admitted to Harvard because his time spent before then is a compelling insight as to his goals after Harvard, the Ivy Leagues schools eat that sort of stuff on admissions standards, and I would say his time there justified his acceptance. Also, he paid for the same way most do, loans. Or a secret cabal of Muslim illuminati bent on the destruction of American through progressive tax schemes, either is pretty plausible.

JLEW1818
6/8/2009, 04:19 PM
Like Bill Cosby said, accepting affirmative action is showing that your not as good as the other guy...

Collier11
6/8/2009, 04:19 PM
Of course his grades wouldnt matter, just like him actually having an political experience at all didnt matter as to him being president apparently

Collier11
6/8/2009, 04:20 PM
ahh shucks

TUSooner
6/8/2009, 06:06 PM
As our economy goes down the toilet, thank you Mr Obama.

The economy was in the toilet before the election. Get a ***ing clue please.

Curly Bill
6/8/2009, 06:07 PM
The economy was in the toilet before the election. Get a ***ing clue please.

Well yeah, but you gotta admit "the one" hasn't helped any.

sooner ngintunr
6/8/2009, 06:09 PM
he's hurtin it.

jiminy
6/8/2009, 06:53 PM
he's hurtin it.

All part of the plan... to make socialism look appealing, you have to make capitalism look TERRIBLE. Only the simple-minded are buying it, though

AggieTool
6/8/2009, 07:42 PM
Of course his grades wouldnt matter, just like him actually having an political experience at all didnt matter as to him being president apparently

And he can see Russia from his house.:D

Collier11
6/8/2009, 08:09 PM
from illinois, no way...Alaska maybe ;)

Crucifax Autumn
6/8/2009, 08:55 PM
Once again a thread has abandoned reasoned facts on both sides for complete drivel from all!

Another day on the oval...

I'm craving cheese...Bullshat and Cheese please!

Collier11
6/8/2009, 09:04 PM
Crux...shut up




;)

OklahomaTuba
6/8/2009, 09:51 PM
Well yeah, but you gotta admit "the one" hasn't helped any.

What makes you think that????
http://pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/files/2009/04/obamadebt.jpg

Welcome aboard the HMS Obamtic!

AggieTool
6/8/2009, 09:56 PM
What makes you think that????
Welcome aboard the HMS Obamtic!

We're so glad you're worried about spending...

Now....:D

OklahomaTuba
6/8/2009, 10:08 PM
We're so glad you're worried about spending...

Now....:D

Of course it helps when spending is actually, as a % of GDP, going down, and not through the F'kn roof.

tommieharris91
6/8/2009, 11:44 PM
Of course it helps when spending is actually, as a % of GDP, going down, and not through the F'kn roof.

You do realize that the last President to actually reduce the national debt was also getting blown by ugly interns, right?

Collier11
6/8/2009, 11:49 PM
Clinton didnt reduce ****e, we all know that...

tommieharris91
6/8/2009, 11:51 PM
Clinton didnt reduce ****e, we all know that...

If by "we all," you mean "me," you would be correct.

Collier11
6/9/2009, 08:42 AM
if by "me" you mean "you" then im glad we can agree :)