Themes of European Election Campaign Highlight Polarisation

The upcoming elections to the European Parliament are still rather secondary for Czech society. What is new, is the fact that, perhaps for the first time, the campaign is dominated by pan-European issues, not just those of domestic importance. These are mainly migration, or rather the EU's migration and asylum policy, and the planned changes to the EU economy under the Green Deal. These topics can be perceived as polarizing, says Tomáš Cirhan, scientist from SYRI National Institute.

The voter turnout in the Czech Republic is expected to be below 40%, reflecting a lack of public interest, but at the same time the character of the campaigns can be perceived as polarising, a pattern also seen in other countries. “In a number of countries, for example in the Netherlands, the issue of asylum policy and migration in general resonates significantly in the campaign, a topic that directly appeals to far-right populist parties. In the case of the Netherlands, it is the Party for Freedom of Geert Wilders, in Germany, the Alternative for Germany operates on similar rhetoric,” said Cirhan.

“I assume that the main change that these elections will bring to European politics will be the success of these types of parties in several EU countries. We will have to wait and see what risks this change will bring to the political system, but realistically it is a very significant change at the European level,” added Cirhan.

European Parliament (EP) elections in the Czech Republic will take place in less than two weeks, on the weekend of Friday 7 and Saturday 8 June.