Across Europe, the European campaign has been overshadowed by local agendas, said European Policy Centre's Sara Hagemann. "Holding local elections simultaneously with the European elections is certainly expected to increase turnout, and has done so in the past, but the debate and everything around it will give focus to other elections, rather than the European Parliament elections," she said, highlighting the dangers of the practice.
EurActiv asked experts in different member states holding domestic elections whether local rallies had stolen the limelight from the European campaigns.
Denmark referendum on royal rights
In Denmark, the government has scheduled a referendum on giving equal succession rights to the throne to members of the royal family for 7 June, the date of the European poll.
Danish political analyst David Willumsen told EurActiv that he did not think there was "any party-specific effect" of twinning the election with the referendum. "In terms of turnout, the referendum needs to get at least 40% of the electorate voting for it to pass," the expert said, referring to a constitutional turnout requirement. But he added that any effect on overall turnout for the EU elections "will be marginal".
Politiken.dk reports that Denmark normally has turnouts of between 70 and 80% for referenda. In comparison, 59% of Danes told Eurobarometer that they would "definitely vote" in the European elections, with more recent local polls suggesting an even lower figure, while only 47.8 per cent actually voted in 2004.
However, Søren Risbjerg Thomsen, professor of political science at the University of Aarhus, told EurActiv that he did not think the referendum would increase the EU poll turnout, because "most people are not aware of it". "Until now we have not been talking about it in the media," said the professor.
Berlusconi's alleged love affairs stirs debate
Italy is also holding regional elections in tandem with the European poll. Local politics in Italy plays an important role in the country's governance, and concerns have been raised that these elections are overshadowing the European vote.
Ettore Greco, director of Instituto Affari Internazionali, said there was "no doubt" that the advent of local elections would have a "substantial impact on turnout" at the European elections in Italy. There will be municipal elections in "almost half the cities" as well as provincial elections, informed the Italian expert.
"Local issues have prevailed" when local elections have taken place in the past, noted Greco. He added that the national media had concentrated on national rather than European issues, polarising the debate on Berlusconi’s alleged love affair with an 18-year old. Indeed, Italy's EU election campaign has been struggling to attract voters' attention over the last month, following the decision of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's wife to file for divorce (EurActiv 07/05/09).
UK polls hijacked by expenses scandal
Across England, voters will be asked on 4 June to select their local representatives as well as to vote to renew the European Parliament. Simon Hix of the London School of Economics argues that the European Parliament elections are "second-order elections" in this case, with voters expected to voice their frustration with the government by choosing to cast their ballot for smaller parties.
Philip Whyte, a political expert at the Centre for European Reform in London, told EurActiv that the EU poll was not competing with other elections, but rather "the limelight has been completely hogged by the expenses scandal" in the British parliament.
Whyte argued that the scandal had totally overshadowed the European election campaigns in the British press, "with virtually no-one aware that there is a vote taking place". He suggested that "the impact on turnout is going to be quite marked".
One of the "big winners" from the scandal will be the UK Independence Party (UKIP), argued Whyte, referring to the main British Eurosceptic party. He also mentioned that there was a fear that the British National Party (BNP), a far-right party, "will pick up a seat or two".
Latvians vote for candidates, not parties
Latvia has also scheduled local elections to coincide with the European vote. "The local elections are much more important for our public," Latvijas Fakti Director Aigars Freimanis informed EurActiv, stressing that "unemployment was the main issue in Latvia right not". Even if people have a job, "they feel at risk of losing it," explained the research director.
When deciding how to cast their vote for the European Parliament, Freimanis said that Latvians were most interested in the quality of the candidate and their CV. With just eight MEPs, Latvians know they must send the strongest possible candidates, he explained.
Freimanis added that when Latvians vote for a list they know "in real terms that only one, maximum two people from one list" will get elected, which means they vote more for the candidate. "When you ask them questions like 'which party are you going to vote for?' or 'who do you think you will vote for in the European elections?', people usually say they are going to vote for such-and-such a person," added Freimanis.
Germans eye September general election
Germany's political parties are already preparing for the general election in September and have been looking at this week's local and European polls as a testing ground. With opinion polls fuelling expectations of a record low turnout on 7 June, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has acted to mobilise German voters, jointly issuing a statement with Nicolas Sarkozy at the weekend urging voters to cast their ballot (EurActiv 02/06/09).
Some commentators in the German press have alleged that the parties are treating the upcoming European vote as a warm-up for September's national vote. This is an allegation that Merkel strenuously denies. "That would not do justice to the importance of Europe," she told German ARD television refuting the charge.
But the German media have nevertheless noted changes in the German leader's approach to EU issues ahead of the European vote. They point to Merkel and Sarkozy's unusually subdued attempt to broach the topic of enlargement in their weekend statement. Normally vocal in their scepticism of a future Turkish accession, the Merkel and Sarkozy statement avoided mentioning Turkey by name when touching on the issue of enlargement.
Some experts see this as electioneering ahead of the September poll. According to a poll conducted among German Turks, only "10%" would vote for Merkel's Christian Democrats and the Christian Social Union. This may be something the chancellor is seeking to change ahead of September's election by softening her tone on Turkey, according to observers.
