European fringe parties set to gain seats in European Parliament
European fringe parties set to gain seats in European Parliament
Opinion polls are predicting that parties normally on the fringes of Dutch and British politics are set to gain seats in the latest European parliamentary elections.
In the UK, Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s increasingly unpopular Labour government has seen the recent resignation of cabinet members following feelings of no-confidence amongst the British public amid the British MPs expenses scandal. According to polls, Labour looks to be beaten into third place at best, with the opposition Conservative Party, as well as the long peripheral Liberal Democrats and Euro-sceptic UK Independence Party expecting to outnumber Labour seats at the European Parliament.
In the Netherlands too, a right-wing Party for Freedom, lead by controversial Dutch MP, Geert Wilders, looks to gain 12 percent of Holland’s share of MEP votes, which would make it equal to the part-governing labour PvdA party, usually a main party player in Dutch politics. Similarly, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende’s Christian Democratic (CDA) party is expected to achieve around 14 percent of the vote, with an increase in votes for the usually less successful liberal VVD with 11 percent, and the Socialist Party at 10 percent.
The European People's Party - an umbrella group for centre-right parties from across the EU - is expected to remain the largest political bloc in the parliament, even if it loses some MEPs. The rest of the EU countries shall be casting their votes throughout the weekend.
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