European Parliament Elections 2014: Voters’ Attitude among Protest, Euroscepticism and Populism

The results of the EP elections 2014 outline the rise of parties often categorized as extreme left and right parties, Eurosceptic, populist and anti-establishment. This paper describes voters’ attitude toward three main issue: protest toward national and European contexts, Euroscepticism and political involvement within the context of populism. Even though protest toward national incumbents seems somehow prevailing, a strong opposition toward the actions of European Union is present. Here the issue of Euroscepticism comes at stake, voters positioning toward the European Union tells us that the standard “soft”, “hard” dichotomy is somehow restrictive; moreover Euroscepticism seems to cross-cut the left-right political spectrum. A closer look at these voters, describes a situation in which they cast a protest against politics without actually being interested in it. This in line with the definition of such parties as “new populist parties”. Nevertheless, some distinctions can be observed among them.