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DIRECT ELECTIONS TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: A SUPRANATIONAL PERSPECTIVE *
Author(s) -
LODGE JULIET,
HERMAN VALENTINE
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
european journal of political research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.267
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1475-6765
pISSN - 0304-4130
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-6765.1980.tb00738.x
Subject(s) - parliament , european commission , political science , perspective (graphical) , politics , public administration , member states , turnout , general election , political economy , law , voting , sociology , european union , economics , international trade , artificial intelligence , computer science
This article examines the campaigns to increase EC voters' awareness of the EC and direct elections to the European Parliament with a view to stimulating high turnout. A supranational perspective is adopted. The first part of the paper discusses and evaluates the aims and effects of the so‐called “non‐partisan” European Elections Information Programmes launched by the Commission and the European Parliament, and briefly details their implementation in the Member States. The second part of the paper sketches the campaigns of the transnational party organizations – European People's Party, Confederation of Socialist Parties and European Liberals and Democrats – for the elections. It is concluded that the effectiveness of the programmes and political campaigns was curtailed by a number of political factors at the national level in many Member States.