| This election was a
damning indictment of Europe's current political leaders.
Most people either voted for opposition parties or didn't
bother to vote at all.
In Germany in particular the scale
of the defeat for the governing Social Democrats was pretty staggering.
While the number of people staying away
from the polls in new member states like Poland and Slovakia
was a source of deep disappointment
for officials in Brussels. Euro-sceptic parties gained
ground in Britain, Sweden, the Czech Republic and elsewhere.
But overall, the new parliament
will not be too dissimilar from
the old. Most MEPs will be pro-European, with the center-right
parties forming the biggest group, followed by the socialists.
The parliament meets for the first time next month but attention
in the EU is already switching to
the debate on the proposed European constitution. EU foreign ministers
are meeting in Luxembourg today to discuss new compromise proposals
in advance of a European summit in Brussels later this week.
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a damning indictment: if something
is a damning indictment of something else, it shows how bad it
is didn't bother: didn't do it
(because it was too much effort or because it was pointless)
scale: size
staggering: incredible, amazing
staying away from the polls: not
voting
a source of deep disappointment:
very disappointing gained ground:
performed well; here, got lots of votes
overall: generally, with everything
considered dissimilar: different
switching to: turning its attention
(from one thing to another)
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