The 46 Green Parties from across the EU are staging a Pan-European election. They are in the process of selecting their “front” runners, who will represent them across Europe during the elections to the EU parliament next May.
The election, described as innovative e-democracy invites all “Green minded people” to register online. On registration, the candidates are introduced and there is the opportunity to watch them in debate. Other European groupings have, in the spirit of post Lisbon and renewal, opted to select a single person as their face across Europe. Their selected person will be their candidate to fill the role of Commission President. The Greens have decided to select two, both will present for the movement. It is unclear how they will distinguish which of the two will be their Commission President candidate. Selection by online convention is interesting and hopefully more successful than our attempt at e voting.
There is a move among the right wing groups to form an alliance in the run into next year’s EU election. Marine le Pen of the French National Front has said she wants to have a new grouping after the elections next year. The composition of the group may include the Swedish Democrats, Belgium’s Valaams Belang, along with the Dutch and Austrian Freedom parties. It would appear that the UK’s Nigal Faragh will not lead his UKIP into such a group. Le Pen has criticised UKIP in the past as “lacking maturity”. Le Pen has vetoed Greece’s neo-nazi Golden Dawn as her popularity rises in France at the expense of the government there. She is quoted as saying “Our old European nations are forced to ask Brussels for authorisation in all circumstances, forced to submit their budgets to the headmaster.” While there may be a new alliance, it is unlikely that it will contest the election on a common platform.