The European elections as second and third order elections : a case study of a small state and a large state

Abstract

Reif and Schmitt's Second-Order Election Theory in 1980 is an imperative theory into investigating the results of European Elections. Due to the decentralisation of power to local authorities, further non-national elections take place in EU states, which could also be regarded as second-order elections. In second-order elections less is at stake and voters vote more with their heart than head. Because of this, turnout is lower, government parties are punished, new and small parties are more successful, more votes are invalidated and national issues prevail. Large parties use fewer resources and are less visible, especially if these take place at the beginning of their term in office. The nature of Local and European elections is very different, as they are fought on different levels, with the European ones on a supra-national level and the local ones on a sub-national one. The democratic deficit and the design of the European Parliament itself are also an issue due not having a fixed seat and the lack of separation between executive and legislative power, which is not found in any other EU state. A special focus was made on new and small parties, including the rise of the far-right parties contesting elections in both countries. Although such parties enjoy increased popularity in European elections, they do not enjoy any popularity in Local elections and national elections. I have chosen a small state and a large state to try and investigate whether the state's size prioritises one election over the other (local or European) and why.