European Parliament elections 2009 (109): Looking back at 1999 and 2004

Earlier, I took a look at a German newspaper article from June 1999 on the European Parliament elections. And you bet what was the core message:

The campaign was focused on national topics, the candidates where not known, and the only true European references in the electoral manifestos where similar across all major parties: More democracy, more transparency, better connection to the citizens.

This post could also have been filed under "History blogging" instead of "European Parliament Elections 2009"...

And since it fits into the history blogging thing:

On my scientific "journeys" I found a 2009 issue of the Journal of Political Marketing dedicated to the 2004 EP campaign with the following articles:

• Second-Rate Election Campaigning? An Analysis of Campaign Styles in European Parliamentary Elections

• “Struggling for Voters”: European Campaigning in Germany

• Marketing With a Feeling: The Brand New Party Junilistan in the Swedish European Parliamentary Election 2004 

• Strategic Miscalculations: Election Campaigns to the European Parliament in Estonia 2004 

• Framing the European Union and Building the Media Agenda: The 2004 European Parliamentary Elections in the Spanish Daily Press 

• Framing the New EU: U.S. Media Portrayals of the 2004 European Union Expansion and Parliamentary Elections
  

It's kind of funny reading such analyses now, so short before the elections and not 2-3 years ago. Feels like marketing from the journal editions, because these days people might be looking for such kind of articles - so you offer them a nice special edition.

When it comes to me, I am already looking forward to the findings for the 2009 campaign(s). I suppose, the only big difference to 1999 and 2004 will be two additional countries, Libertas, and the emergence of large-scale internet campaigning. Maybe a glimpse at the institutional EP campaign, too. But the conclusions will be very close to those we got in the past.

Anyone betting against me...?

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Under the category "European parliament elections 2009" I am following up national and European activities on the path to the European Parliament elections 2009.

For an overview over all articles in this category have a look at the overview article.

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