[FR] European Parliament: lessons learned from the June 2009 elections

The 2009 European elections were marked by an economic crisis that many consider to be exceptionally severe. Overall, European voters seem to have opted for political continuity: most of the incumbent leaders were re-elected and, given that Europe is leaning to the right, the political balance has been maintained. The reasons for this underlying trend can be found in the political caution of European voters, who are reluctant to take a chance on the left when the right, which until recently claimed to be liberal, is adopting Keynesian policies to revive the economy and save the banking system. But does one crisis not hide another? Shouldn’t the very real threats posed by rising unemployment, deflation and loss of purchasing power be weighed against this other risk, which is global in the strongest sense of the word, namely global warming with its accompanying disasters: rising sea levels, growing uncertainty about agricultural crops, conflicts over the use of natural resources, loss of biodiversity, massive movements of climate refugees, etc.? Has the Stern report on the economics of climate change already been forgotten? In short, has the economic emergency suddenly erased the environmental priority?