Conservatives Surge In EU Voting

[bush_cheney2004]

Looks like the "Left" is taking a hit this time around in EU voting.....

Overall, the center-right group known as the European People’s Party remained the strongest in the Parliament, with 263 to 273 out of the total 736 seats, according to an initial projection. The Socialists won 155 to 165 seats and the Liberal Democrats 78 to 84.

“It is a very sad night for Social Democrats in Europe, we’re very disappointed, we had hoped for better results,” Martin Schulz of Germany, the socialists’ floor leader, said. “It’s a very bitter evening.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...refer=worldwide

BRUSSELS – Conservatives raced toward victory in some of Europe's largest economies Sunday as initial results and exit polls showed voters punishing left-leaning parties in European parliament elections in France, Germany and elsewhere.

Some right-leaning parties said the results vindicated their reluctance to spend more on company bailouts and fiscal stimulus amid the global economic crisis.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090607/ap_on_...opean_elections

[Sir Bandelot]

Some right-leaning parties said the results vindicated their reluctance to spend more on company bailouts and fiscal stimulus amid the global economic crisis.

Sounds good to me.

[Shady]

Conservatives Surge In EU Voting, ....what goes around comes around

Woot, woot!

[jdobbin]

Woot, woot!

And you think European elections are important to the cause of the right? Ha.

[dub]

i wonder if bc2004 and shady were upset when bush was running up the biggest debt created by any U.S. president while somehow reducing money spent on education.

probably not.

[bush_cheney2004]

i wonder if bc2004 and shady were upset when bush was running up the biggest debt created by any U.S. president while somehow reducing money spent on education.

probably not.

Why would you wonder that? Ever heard of President Ronald Reagan? Probably not....

[xul]

Why would you wonder that? Ever heard of President Ronald Reagan? Probably not....

I remember every president after Nixon.

There was a story of my family . Though it looks like a joke but I guarantee it really happened.

It was my son's 4 years old birthday. I took out an old laptop computer from a closet and played an old computer game named Red Alert to amuse him. I followed the old ways to built the ore refineries to boom economy first and then began to build some military establishments preparing the war. At this point, my son grasped the mouse of the computer and began to play the game himself. To my surprise, he looked like prefectly knowing how to run the game---figuring out how to build missiles, tanks, planes, warships....even atomic bombs by himself without my help.

Satisfied for having such a gifted child, I slumped into a sofa for a nap. It was about 30 minutes later when I was awaken by a huge jolt. I opened my eyes and happily found it was just my son shaking my hands, not an earthquake.

"The computer has jammed. It dosen't response my order to build anything. Can you come taking a look?" my son demanded.

I came to the computer and surprisingly found out almost one third of the map was filled with war factories, army camps, airbases, navy yards, missile silos, laser towers, radar domes and satellite controls. Sarcastically, in despite of having such formidable military establishments, the enemies were still here mostly untouched and occasionally sent out suicide attackers blowing up his ore refineries. I thought my son had just totally forgotten the purpose of these military establishments, he was just enjoying to build up as many them as possible meanwhile totally neglected the computer's warning "insufficient funds".

I took over the control and began to rebuild economy. "It seems that your son fits a perfect American," I cracked a joke to my wife. "a republican, working for pentagon as a computer operator under the command of our American friend Admiral Bush_Cheney2004 to computerize the American military presence all around the world."

"Oh, yes, he had made himself a prefect American republican, always runing out of money for building such stuffs and has to give up control to you," my wife came to look. "I think you will fit to be a democrat---always have managed to raise money refilling the treasury up and then you will be kicked off and he will run out of these money again....."

[xul]

Looks like the "Left" is taking a hit this time around in EU voting.....

No surprise...last time they elected Hitler in power when American elected Roosevelt...

[bush_cheney2004]

"Oh, yes, he had made himself a prefect American republican, always runing out of money for building such stuffs and has to give up control to you," my wife came to look. "I think you will fit to be a democrat---always have managed to raise money refilling the treasury up and then you will be kicked off and he will run out of these money again....."

A delightful story, but big spender FDR was a democrat.

[Oleg Bach]

No surprise...last time they elected Hitler in power when American elected Roosevelt...

The photo op was great back then - Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill drunk on a couple of bottles of Vodka - smiling away and loving the adventure. I can see it now - Stalin showing the boys around town and taking them to Natasha's house of pleasure.. seems that world wars are a lot of fun - for about 3 or four persons and hell for millions.

[xul]

A delightful story, but big spender FDR was a democrat.

If FDR spent all these money on military purpose to build the most powerful military force to conquer the world, Chamberlain, Hitler, Stalin would all be scared and would have to ally together to fight against America.

[xul]

The photo op was great back then - Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill drunk on a couple of bottles of Vodka - smiling away and loving the adventure. I can see it now - Stalin showing the boys around town and taking them to Natasha's house of pleasure.. seems that world wars are a lot of fun - for about 3 or four persons and hell for millions.

Without Roosevelt's New Deal, that was the start point of a series of reform on the system, people today would not have pension, unemployment compensation, medicare,etc. Before his-kind reformed the "stone-aged" capitalism system, if a worker at that time got ill or disabled, the capitalist would kicked him out and he would starve to die. Of course, if a capitalist run out of money in the recession, he had to jump off the skyscraper he built but no longer belonged to him becasue there was not bankruptcy protection law to help him. The system was really barbaric then. This is why in 1930s, Hitler-Stalin-kind can easily took over the power.

[DogOnPorch]

The photo op was great back then - Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill drunk on a couple of bottles of Vodka - smiling away and loving the adventure. I can see it now - Stalin showing the boys around town and taking them to Natasha's house of pleasure.. seems that world wars are a lot of fun - for about 3 or four persons and hell for millions.

What a fantastically stupid statement.

[Strangles]

The Rightist Parties in the European Parliament are not even free trade parties, they are nationalists. It is a massive difference in ideology between them and conservative parties in the Americas.

Many of them believe in Euro-centric policy making that is more aligned to the economical beliefs of the 1800s than 21st century.

The BNP for example has won 2 seats, yet the BNP is not a free trade party. They are opposed to most forms of free trade. They believe in home based manufacturing and employment policy that expenses their neighbors and trade partners (in economics this is called ‘beggar thy neighbor’).

Many of these parties believe that Europe (as in the EU trading bloc) should receive raw materials (mostly cheap) from overseas, the manufacturing process should take place in Europe, and they should then be shipped back to wherever the natural resources were acquired from for the purpose of selling.

This worked in the 1800s as Europe was industrializing and they controlled most of South America, India, and Africa, but in the 2000s this is impossible without a major and costly acquisition (i.e. gunboat diplomacy) of overseas territory, or coercion into keeping the price of raw materials artificially low in opposition to free market prices.

What the Europeans are voting in apparently it seems is not free trade, but mercantilism. It seems they are lashing out more against foreigners than giving thumbs up for free trade and free markets over government control and socialism. What they are voting for is not more open markets, but a closed EU protectionist bloc.

This will work against them in the long run as the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), African nations, and various others such as Canada and Mexico continue to lower global trade barriers, equalizing prices of commodities across the globe while continuing to allocate manufacturing in a more efficient manner.

[Bonam]

It seems they are lashing out more against foreigners

Of course they are. With the massive waves of immigration and rapidly changing demographics, why wouldn't they be?

[Strangles]

Of course they are. With the massive waves of immigration and rapidly changing demographics, why wouldn't they be?

Europe has no major immigration policy, and the number of immigrants going to Europe is negligible compared to Canada or America's immigration pattern.

What the voters are really lashing out without realizing it is Europe's failed economic policies. Its bloc mentality protectionism is causing its manufacturing sector to a steady decline especially in traditional industrial countries such as Germany. Compounded by the fact that the global financial sector is in turmoil, this has left many economies in Europe to grind to a halt or even recede (6% GDP regression in the 1st Q of 2009 for Germany).

Angela Merkel's administration has blasted Obama's economic stimulus, however it is Germany which is in a steadier decline than America. Germany is in a slow but steady decline in terms of total output comparative to real growth, and it is why many Germans over the past decade are feeling more job insecurity than they are traditionally used to. This is partly due to the EU bloc's failure to adjust its global trade policies. This leads to my all time favorite,” social unrest”. Turning to fringe parties to solve the problems of a nation. It is easier in parliamentary systems than in presidential ones.

Britain’s over reliance on its financial sector (60% of GDP is service and finance) has led to a complete disaster, and it’s no wonder the people are looking to turn to a different party. I wouldn’t be surprised if the BNP gets a few seats in the inevitable general elections.

It is very important for Europe not to isolate itself now more than ever. Europe's traditional commodity partner has been the African bloc of nations and Russia. However as Africans themselves turn ever more towards China, South America and India, this is leaving Europeans out in the cold and their manufacturers are struggling to compete with the rising prices and emerging powers for resources on the continent, even to domestic nations such as South Africa, Tanzania and Sudan which are also throwing their hats in.

Russia has been warming up more to China and India and the Middle East, and it is leaving Europeans baffled and mostly bewildered (see recent gas pipeline rows and trade relations with Iran and China).

It comes back to lashing out. Lashing over demographic change? It is possible that Europeans are lashing out partly due to demographics (as they did in South Africa with the introduction of Apartheid to protect the 'white race' in Africa), but its evident much of it is economics policy induced. If Europe isolates itself it will become poorer, and the only people who will be afraid of a poor Europe is Europeans (see what isolation has done to Albania, Belarus, Moldova, Macedonia, Serbia and a slew of other European banana republic’s).