European elections: Abstention will be the rule

The most recent parliamentary elections last autumn left many Romanians frustrated because the politicians and parties have failed to keep their promises. Stelian Tanase writes in the daily Adevărul about the connection between national and European elections: "I believe the reason [for the indifference of the voters] is not just that Brussels is so far away; it's also what happened in the last elections. … I detect a certain carelessness in the repetition of the same old techniques that almost everyone recognises. I'm not sure whether the 'promise everyone everything' formula will work this time. … June 7 will basically be a test of how voters react to the tricks of the politicians. Have they learned their lesson from the bluff last autumn or can they forgive and forget this quickly? Abstention will be the rule, but the direction the vote takes will tell us something about the collective short-term memory."

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