From the Daily Telegraph . . .

It has been proclaimed as the biggest democratic exercise in history but the European election is likely to be marred by a historically low turnout. The European Commission has projected that only 34 per cent of the eligible electorate would vote, a dramatic drop from the 45 per cent turnout at the last election. Officials have blamed a series of “distractions” – from local economic woes to fringe candidates dominating national campaigns – for sliding interest among the 375 million eligible voters. The forecast prompted a warning from Margot Wallstrom, the Commission’s vice-president for communication, that the credibility of the EU’s only democratic institution is at stake. “The legitimacy of your parliament, and that of the Union as a whole, is at stake,” she wrote in a recent internal document.

Credibility? Legitimacy?