EU Elections

[Florestan]

Are you happy with the outcome in your native and/or adoptive country?

The outcome in Romania is:

1. The governing Center Left-Center Right Coalition PSD-PNL: 54 % (I didn't vote for them)
2. The Nationalist/Far-Right Party AUR: 14 % (I didn't vote for them)
3. The Centrist Party USR: 11 % (I voted for them)
4. Others 21 %, not making it to the EU Parliament

Both (1) and (3) are staunchly pro-EU and pro-NATO, so I am happy with the outcome. As different from other EU member countries, the Romanian far-right is clearly in minority.

[Luke]

Well done Romania. A voice of sanity

[Mandryka]

Surprising things are happening in France. I wasn't surprised that Le Pen did well, but I didn't think they'd do so well that an election would be deemed necessary.

[71 dB]

Kind of okay result. Could have been worse:

1. The National Coalition Party 24.8 %
2. The Left Alliance 17.3 %
3. The Finnish Social Democratic Party 14.9 %
4. Centre Party of Finland 11.8 %
5. The Greens 11.3 % (I voted)
6. The Finns Party 7.6 %
7. The Swedish People's Party of Finland 6.2 %
8. Christian Democrats in Finland 4.1 %
9. Freedom Alliance 0.9 %

I expected this kind of result, but The Left Alliance and The Finns Party switching places. This result is much much better as The Finns Party is a far-right group. The Left Alliance made insanely well compared to their typical result in election. Their candidate Li Andersson got record breaking 247,604 votes, almost three times more than the second.

[Florestan]

Well done Romania. A voice of sanity

Let me give you just one but very telling instance of why I am opposed to the Romanian nationalist & far-right party.

There are about 5,000,000 Romanians living and working in EU; they left Romania in search for better-paid jobs than in their native country, and they found them; the Romanian economy is dependent on their incomes; the money they sent to and spent in Romania helped the country to progress and develop. Romania in 2024 is galaxies apart from Romania in 1989. Yet during all these years, Romanian immigrants in (mostly) Italy and Spain had to endure for years and years the stigma of being just that, Romanian immigrants, automatically equated with the crimes, thefts and lawless that only a few of them were committing. The balance is now redressed.

Fast forward 20 or 30 years: Nepalese and Philippine immigrants now come to Romania in search for better-paid jobs than in their native country, and they found them; they send and spend money in their native countries which help progress and development.  The very fact that these people seek employment in Romania is evidence for Romania's having progressed and becoming more prosperous than she was in the past. And it's not that they are employed as engineers, doctors or lawyers --- oh no, they are waiters, deliverers, janitors and baby-sitters, exactly like Romanians were 20 or 30 years ago and like some of them are right now.

And yet, the Romanian nationalist/far-right party claims that these people are a menace to Romania, to Romanian jobs and to the European civilization at large. IOW, Romanian immigrants to Italy good, Italian nationalists bad; Nepalese immigrants to Romania bad, Romanian nationalists good. This double standard I can neither fathom nor endorse.

[Florestan]

Surprising things are happening in France. I wasn't surprised that Le Pen did well, but I didn't think they'd do so well that an election would be deemed necessary.

Macron played Napoleon and lost --- predictably. 

[Luke]

Let me give you just one but very telling instance of why I am opposed to the Romanian nationalist & far-right party.

There are about 5,000,000 Romanians living and working in EU; they left Romania in search for better-paid jobs than in their native country, and they found them; the Romanian economy is dependent on their incomes; the money they sent to and spent in Romania helped the country to progress and develop. Romania in 2024 is galaxies apart from Romania in 1989. Yet during all these years, Romanian immigrants in (mostly) Italy and Spain had to endure for years and years the stigma of being just that, Romanian immigrants, automatically equated with the crimes, thefts and lawless that only a few of them were committing. The balance is now redressed.

Fast forward 20 or 30 years: Nepalese and Philippine immigrants now come to Romania in search for better-paid jobs than in their native country, and they found them; they send and spend money in their native countries which help progress and development.  The very fact that these people seek employment in Romania is evidence for Romania's having progressed and becoming more prosperous than she was in the past. And it's not that they are employed as engineers, doctors or lawyers --- oh no, they are waiters, deliverers, janitors and baby-sitters, exactly like Romanians were 20 or 30 years ago and like some of them are right now.

And yet, the Romanian nationalist/far-right party claims that these people are a menace to Romania, to Romanian jobs and to the European civilization at large. IOW, Romanian immigrants to Italy good, Italian nationalists bad; Nepalese immigrants to Romania bad, Romanian nationalists good. This double standard I can neither fathom nor endorse.

Predictable but still very sad.