Populist Spanish parties test water in EU elections [Spain and the European elections 2014]

Feature looks at the situation in Spain as regards the campaign for the elections to the European Parliament held in May 2014.

Spain will send the most diverse delegation ever to the European Parliament with its 54 MEPs coming from 10 different political parties after the May 2014 European election.

The country's traditional two-party system took a large knock in the polls. The governing centre-right Partido Popular lost eight seats compared to 2009 while the opposition Socialists (PSOE) lost nine and received only half the votes it got five years before.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Spanish ruling party rebels launch new conservative party http://www.europeansources.info/record/spanish-ruling-party-rebels-launch-new-conservative-party/

ESO: Background information: European Parliament: Election, May 2014 http://www.europeansources.info/record/european-parliament-election-may-2014/

EurActiv, 03.03.14: Spanish extreme right ‘will get nothing’ in EU election, experts say http://www.euractiv.com/eu-elections-2014/spanish-extreme-right-get-eu-ele-news-533849

EurActiv, 17.04.14: Spain gears up for European election battle http://www.euractiv.com/sections/eu-elections-2014/spain-gears-european-election-battle-301625

El País, 28.04.14: European elections: Don't trouble Spaniards with domestic affairs (via Euro|Topics) http://www.eurotopics.net/en/home/presseschau/archiv/aehnliche/archiv_article/ARTICLE142451-European-elections-Don-t-trouble-Spaniards-with-domestic-affairs

Wikipedia: European Parliament election, 2014 (Spain) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Parliament_election,_2014_%28Spain%29

Burson-Marsteller: Europe Decides: Country Profile: Spain http://europedecides.eu/country-by-country/es/

BBC News, 01.05.14: European elections: Radicalised by unemployment http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-27234237

EurActiv, 05.05.14: Catalonian independence creates EU election issue http://www.euractiv.com/sections/eu-elections-2014/catalonian-independence-creates-eu-election-issue-301921

ESO: Background information: Independent Catalonia would be left out of the EU, Brussels insists http://www.europeansources.info/record/independent-catalonia-would-be-left-out-of-the-eu-brussels-insists/

El Periódico de Catalunya, 09.05.14: Eurosceptics have achieved their goal (via Euro|Topics) http://www.eurotopics.net/en/home/presseschau/archiv/aehnliche/archiv_article/ARTICLE143157-European-elections-Eurosceptics-have-achieved-their-goal

EurActiv, 13.05.14: New parties - likely kingmakers in next European parliament http://www.euractiv.com/sections/eu-elections-2014/new-parties-likely-kingmakers-next-european-parliament-302093

Blog: European Public Affairs.eu, 14.05.14: EP elections in Spain: Bi-partisanship, the love story that destroyed the world http://www.europeanpublicaffairs.eu/ep-elections-in-spain-bi-partisanship-the-love-story-that-destroyed-the-world/?utm_source=feedly&utm_reader=feedly&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ep-elections-in-spain-bi-partisanship-the-love-story-that-destroyed-the-world

El País, 16.05.14: Spanish politician went easy on TV debate opponent so as to not look “sexist” http://elpais.com/elpais/2014/05/16/inenglish/1400247969_870474.html

Blog: LSE EuroppBlog, 20.05.14: Spain’s lack of openly Eurosceptic parties ahead of the EP elections shows the idea of Europe still remains powerful for Spanish citizens http://bit.ly/1i0bzhd

EPIN Commentary, No.17, 2014: The Impact of Spain’s Economic and Political Crisis on the European Elections http://www.ceps.be/book/impact-spain%E2%80%99s-economic-and-political-crisis-european-elections

EurActiv, 26.05.14: Socialists win in Portugal, stay second in Spain http://www.euractiv.com/sections/eu-elections-2014/socialists-win-portugal-stay-second-spain-302389

EUObserver, 27.05.14: Spain's traditional two-party system in disarray after EU vote http://euobserver.com/eu-elections/124382

The Guardian, 28.05.14: Spain shows that the 'anti-politics' vote is not a monopoly of the right http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/28/spain-podemos-anti-politics-not-monopoly-right

The Guardian, 27.05.14:Podemos hopes to cement rise of citizen politics in Spain after election success http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/may/27/podemos-citizen-politics-spain-elections-indignados-movement

Catalan News Agency, 26.05.14: European Commission is “very much listening” to Catalans but avoids commenting on turnout and results http://www.catalannewsagency.com/politics/item/european-commission-is-very-much-listening-to-catalans-but-avoids-commenting-on-turnout-and-results

El País, 29.05.14: Podemos is breathing new life into a decadent democracy http://elpais.com/elpais/2014/05/29/inenglish/1401352099_668538.html

Real Instituto Elcano: Research Topics, 21.05.14: Spain: an inward-looking and dispirited (but still pro-European) campaign http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/web/rielcano_en/contenido?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/elcano/elcano_in/zonas_in/europe/llaudes-molina-spain-inward-looking-and-dispirited-but-pro-european-campaign#.U6bxZhCa-G0

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