Eine Frage der Perspektive: Zur Einordnung von Wahlergebnissen aus Anlass der Europawahl 2024

In the aftermath of elections to the European Parlaiment, the media, political parties and academics often draw conclusions about the political mood in a member country. However, European Parliament elections are second-order and are therefore regularly used by citizens as a “wake-up call” for the governing parties. A lower and more selective voter turnout, as well as different issues than in national main elections, contribute to significantly different election results. This raises the question of what might constitute a meaningful comparative perspective for classifying the results. Using the example of the performance of the European governing parties in the European elections in 2024, it is argued that a comparison with both national parliamentary elections and the previous European elections in 2019 can be meaningful and fruitful if the respective contexts are taken into account. The different elections not only follow distinct logics, but also lead to different outcomes in terms of voter approval and the resulting gains and losses. A combination of both perspectives can help to avoid false conclusions.