European elections : so what?

Abstract

You know the European election is coming up? Between 4 and 7 June 2009, 375 million electors across 27 countries will elect the European Parliament. There’s no other election like it; no one else makes parliamentary democracy work at this level, let alone can show thirty years’ history of making it a reality. For a continent where not so long ago people were shooting at each other, glaring at each other across an iron curtain or, for all too many, living under totalitarian or authoritarian oppression, it’s a fair achievement. But what does this all mean for real people? Why should people go out on election day to cast their votes? Many Europeans still feel unfamiliar with their parliament, and unclear about what difference it makes to them who sits there