EINWURF 1/2014 EN - 2014 EU Election – Why Socially Divided Voter Turnout Hurts the EU

It already held true for Germany’s 2013 federal parliamentary election: The more precarious the social living conditions, the lower the voter turnout. As a result, growing regional and social differences lead to political inequality (EINWURF 3/2013). The social divide in German society can be seen even more clearly with the 2014 European Parliament election: With voter turnout for it being significantly lower than that for the Bundestag election, social selectivity was more pronounced. Thus, the results of the EU election are even less representative than those of the Bundestag election.