Patrick Dumont and Raphaël Kies The context For the first time since 1979, European elections were held separately from national elections in Luxembourg. The simultaneity of elections decided on before the first direct European elections (as Luxembourgish MPs were already elected for a five-year mandate and that the next scheduled election was to be held in 1979 anyway) and government stability made all seven previous national and European elections fall on the same day, with a number of consequences ensuing. For instance, as European elections are fought on a unique, nationwide constituency until 2009 all party heavyweights used to be...

Carolina Plescia and David Johann Introduction Germany went to the polls on Sunday, May 25th, to elect 96 members of the European parliament, by far the country in Europe that elects most delegates. The 96 members were elected by a pure proportional electoral system, a real novelty for nationwide elections in Germany, where the minimum threshold has always been 5% for the national elections and 3% for the European elections. This change is the consequence of the Constitutional Court’s decision last February to eliminate the electoral threshold. The election campaign Despite Germany’s leading role in Europe and the importance of Europe for Germany,...

Nina Liljeqvist In the 2009 European elections, Swedish voters favoured government parties on the centre-right and gave the cold shoulder to alternatives on both the far-left and far-right. Come 2014, things could not be more different. This is the fifth European Parliament election for Swedish voters and while voter turnout is on the up, support for the mainstream parties on both the centre-left and centre-right is decreasing. From the campaign to the result: the winners The voters are instead rewarding those that have emphasised specific issues and concrete alternatives in the campaign, namely green politics, feminism, and nationalism. The Green Party (Mp)...