I don't know who to vote for?

euser1984

I am going to vote for the local councillors today but I might give a miss on the MEP's; while they did drop in leaflets and stuff they didn't give any reasons why we should vote for them?

I didn't follow the prime time questions etc.... so I'm uninformed basically....

Scofflaw

euser1984 wrote: »

I am going to vote for the local councillors today but I might give a miss on the MEP's; while they did drop in leaflets and stuff they didn't give any reasons why we should vote for them?

I didn't follow the prime time questions etc.... so I'm uninformed basically....

It doesn't really matter what individual candidates say, it's better to vote on the basis of which European group they sit in. And there you can basically say:

1. if you want main centre-right/Christian democrat, Juncker as Commission President candidate, it's EPP, and you vote FG

2. if you want smaller centrist liberal democrats, Verhofstadt as Commission President candidate, it's ALDE, and you vote FF or Harkin

3. if you want main centre-left, Schulz as Commission President candidate, it's S&D, and you vote Labour

4. if you want harder left, you vote SF, PBP, Socialist

5. if you want green, you vote Green.

That's basically it.

cordially,
Scofflaw

euser1984

Scofflaw wrote: »

It doesn't really matter what individual candidates say, it's better to vote on the basis of which European group they sit in. And there you can basically say:

1. if you want main centre-right/Christian democrat, Juncker as Commission President candidate, it's EPP, and you vote FG

2. if you want smaller centrist liberal democrats, Verhofstadt as Commission President candidate, it's ALDE, and you vote FF or Harkin

3. if you want main centre-left, Schulz as Commission President candidate, it's S&D, and you vote Labour

4. if you want harder left, you vote SF, PBP, Socialist

5. if you want green, you vote Green.

That's basically it.

cordially,
Scofflaw

Wow, thanks....

AlmightyCushion

Scofflaw wrote: »

It doesn't really matter what individual candidates say, it's better to vote on the basis of which European group they sit in. And there you can basically say:

1. if you want main centre-right/Christian democrat, Juncker as Commission President candidate, it's EPP, and you vote FG

2. if you want smaller centrist liberal democrats, Verhofstadt as Commission President candidate, it's ALDE, and you vote FF or Harkin

3. if you want main centre-left, Schulz as Commission President candidate, it's S&D, and you vote Labour

4. if you want harder left, you vote SF, PBP, Socialist

5. if you want green, you vote Green.

That's basically it.

cordially,
Scofflaw

Is there anything that gives more information on the different parties?

alastair

Scofflaw wrote: »

It doesn't really matter what individual candidates say, it's better to vote on the basis of which European group they sit in. And there you can basically say:

1. if you want main centre-right/Christian democrat, Juncker as Commission President candidate, it's EPP, and you vote FG

2. if you want smaller centrist liberal democrats, Verhofstadt as Commission President candidate, it's ALDE, and you vote FF or Harkin

3. if you want main centre-left, Schulz as Commission President candidate, it's S&D, and you vote Labour

4. if you want harder left, you vote SF, PBP, Socialist

5. if you want green, you vote Green.

That's basically it.

cordially,
Scofflaw

I have to say that voting this time 'round was hard work.
I'd have voted No.1 for Labour (S&D) except the calibre of candidate was lacking (Emer Costello - car-crash beneficiary of irritating internal party nepotism). She's just hopeless. I like Paul Murphy as an individual, and as a political activist, but I just don't subscribe to his policies or strategy (the Socialist Party misinformation on the property tax and water charges were/are simply objectionable). I ended up (begrudgingly) giving my No.1 to Nessa Childers - or a pig in a poke, as far as her political group is concerned. I'm not happy about it, and she was an awful campaigner, but Labour need to provide a better candidate for Dublin.

PopePalpatine

I wonder how the opinion polls would go if the electorate was asked to choose Europe-wide parties rather than the national parties of which they're comprised.

Scofflaw

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

Is there anything that gives more information on the different parties?

Their websites, Wikipedia, their voting records on votewatch.eu...depends if you mean "for the voter in a hurry"!

To be fair, the Irish parties, minus their parochialisms, are fairly good matches for the European groups they sit in. If you ignore Enda Kenny, and Bertie, and Rabbitte, and Martin, and the corruption, and the incompetence, and the electioneering stunts, and just consider what you might call the Platonic ideal version of each Irish party, you'll come fairly close.

cordially,
Scofflaw