The decline of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in European elections

Abstract

Almost everywhere in Europe, socialist and social democratic parties are increasingly losing support. Social democracy, considered the most influential force in European politics for whole decades, is at a constant decline. This boils down to various factors including political fragmentation, instability, security issues, low voter turnouts particularly in European elections, and the rise in nationalism and far right parties. Since the European Parliament elections of 1999, the Socialists & Democrats Group within the European Parliament has always been the second-largest group to the European People‟s Party. Consequently, this study aims to outline the issues leading to such poor results as well as examine the approach being taken by socialist parties in France and the Netherlands, specifically in the 2009 and 2014 European elections. Social democratic parties have been swept from power in these two countries in addition to a significant number of losses since 2010. This research will assess how important it is for socialist and democratic parties to address other areas outside their traditional principles in order to reconnect with European citizens. It is indeed crucial for these parties to answer and act upon truly important questions and concerns raised by EU citizens such as security, migration issues and good economic governance.