Left-right split in Parliament underlined

Date: 06/04/2000

By Gareth Harding

THE European Parliament is more divided between left and right than at any time in its history, a study into voting patterns since last June's Euro-elections has revealed.

The report, drawn up by Simon Hix of the London School of Economics, underlines the breakdown in the old Christian Democrat/Socialist 'grand coalition' which dominated the assembly in its first two decades as an elected body.

In the last legislature, the European People's Party (EPP) and the Socialists voted the same way 75% of the time. But in the first six months of this Parliament, they joined forces in only 60% of votes. The figure is even lower for legislative decisions than for resolutions, putting paid to the belief that the need for an absolute majority on certain issues would force the two biggest parties to work hand in hand.

In this Parliament, the Socialists have generally joined forces with the Green Group, with the Christian Democrats tending to team up with the Liberals to form a virtual majority.

The study reveals that the EPP, which beat the Socialists to become the assembly's largest group last June, is on the winning side in 87% of votes. But the second most powerful group is the Liberals, who supported winning positions in almost four out of five cases due to their informal alliance with the EPP.

The Liberal Group, which is the Parliament's third biggest political force, is also the most tight-knit, with all its members voting the same way in almost 90% of cases. This is slightly more than the EPP and Socialists and considerably more than the Greens and other smaller parties.

Within the groups, the 37 UK Conservatives are the most ill-disciplined, voting against the EPP group majority on almost a third of occasions. British Labour members are also more likely to follow orders from back home than their continental partners.

The European Parliament is more divided between left and right than at any time in its history, a study into voting patterns since the June 1999 Euro-elections has revealed.