Assessing the 2019 European Parliament Elections

Informed by and against the backdrop of the 2019 European Parliament (EP) elections, this innovative book provides a critical assessment of where Europe stands in terms of the quest for achieving democratic legitimacy.

Introduction: Assessing the 2019 European Parliament Elections Part I: The Politico-Legal Framework of the 2019 European Elections 1. The Long and Winding Road towards a European Electoral Law 2. From Dawn to Doom: The institutionalization of the Spitzenkandidaten-process during European elections and its final negation 3. The Fall of the Spitzenkandidaten: Political parties and conflict in the 2019 European elections 4. Party-groups and Ideological Cleavages in the European Parliament after the 2019 Elections Part II: Public Opinion and Voting Behaviour at the 2019 European Parliament Elections 5. European Parliament Elections as Second Order National Elections 6. First-Order Breakthrough or Still Second Order? An assessment of the 2019 EP elections Part III: The 2019 European Parliament Elections in Eight Countries 7. The 2019 EP Election in Austria: A highly salient domestic test election 8. The 2019 EP Election in Denmark: A European election within a national contest 9. Second-Order or Second Hand? The 2019 EP election in France 10. Between Migration and the Climate Crisis: The 2019 EP election in Germany 11. Orbán's Long Shadow: The 2019 European Parliament election in Hungary 12. 2019 European Election in Italy: Second-order but still salient elections? 13. The 2019 EP Election in Poland: In the shadow of extreme polarization 14. The 2019 EP Election in Spain: Settling a national score? From Second-Order towards First-Order Elections: Some Concluding Observations