On Public Sénat : how to launch the European elections’ campaign in France?
With only three weeks to go before the European elections, the election remains a subject that receives little media coverage, while all the lists have only just been broadcast and some programmes are still missing. The European elections’ campaign is struggling to get off the ground, for several factors that Yves Bertoncini stated in his intervention on Public Sénat on May 6, 2019.
Speech by Yves Bertoncini from 58:00 minutes
Is the participation deficit exacerbated by the national context?
While the yellow vest crisis and the Great National Debate, among others, are furnishing the national news, the European debate is still lagging behind. A phenomenon which, according to Yves Bertoncini, could be explained by “the lack of competences of the European Union which cannot do everything and therefore leads to a lack of participation in elections”. But this is not the only reason, for the President of the European Movement who reminds us that “today in France there is a Great National Debate which has overshadowed the small European debate that we must have now”. He stressed the importance of developing the European debate in the face of “the challenges to be met at European level”.
The European elections’ campaign does not take, yes, but… “for a mayonnaise to take, you have to put the ingredients in it“, says Yves Bertoncini. A spirit feature intended to highlight the delay in the publication of lists and programmes: “Why is it that as we speak, we do not have the programme of the main list?” he wondered. However, the President of the European Movement – France remains positive about the launch of the campaign: “it should end up taking place within the last three weeks so that those who want to participate in this election can vote in full knowledge of the facts”.
“Europeans are very attached to belonging to the European Union”
Around the table, the guests agreed that Europeans are committed to the European Union. A position that the President of the European Movement – France shares: “Europeans, the French are committed to belonging to the European Union, but that is not why they will move en masse”. However, he points out that in France there is a suspense that can arouse interest: “the ruling party is not sure if it will come out on top”. However, he called for “European issues” to be added to the debate and regretted the “lack of programmes”.
Yves Bertoncini also pointed out that the top candidates are little known to the general public: “the top candidates are not emblematic, there has been a withdrawal of the top candidates and we have given way to less well-known people”. For him, it is all the more important to be proactive “because voters will not spontaneously identify themselves with these top lists”.
“There will be a national dimension to this election”
It is true that the European debate, although still limited, partly concerns domestic issues, a dimension accentuated by the return to national lists according to Yves Bertoncini, who ironically states: “it is curious to have wanted to Europeanise the debate by nationalising the election”. This is one more reason for the President of the European Movement – France to focus on “the migration challenge, the climate challenge, Donald Trump, Putin and China, instability in our neighbourhood: these global challenges to which a European response is needed”. This is why he regrets the lack of programmes three weeks before the European elections, since “when ideas are made public they can be taken to the top of the list”.