German left crashes as EU wraps up elections

Germany's governing Social Democrats suffered their worst result in 50 years yesterday as voters across the continent used European Parliament elections to register protests on domestic issues on a low turnout.

As the last of nearly 350 million eligible voters in the enlarged 25-nation bloc were casting ballots, projections from the EU's most populous state pointed to huge gains for the opposition Christian Democrats and a humiliation for Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's SPD.

Beset by a stagnant economy and high unemployment, the Social Democrats polled just 23 per cent, their worst national score since World War Two, compared with about 46 per cent for the CDU and its Bavarian sister-party.

Turnout in France and Spain appeared to be heading for a record low since direct elections to the Strasbourg-based European Union legislature began in 1979, projections showed.

The four-day exercise in cross-border democracy reached its climax as 19 countries voted in the poll that for the first time included members from behind the old "Iron Curtain", such as Hungary and the Baltic states.

"People use elections in many countries to sanction their governments, with domestic issues rather than European-dominating debates," said John Palmer, director of the Brussels-based European Policy Centre think-tank.

The centre-right was forecast to remain the biggest group in the new assembly, with the Socialists the second-largest group. The vote came six weeks after the EU admitted 10 new, mostly ex-communist countries from eastern Europe.

Two potential contenders for the key job of European Commission president - Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt and Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker - experienced contrasting fortunes yesterday.

Verhofstadt's Flemish Liberals, outpolled by the far right Vlaams Blok, look set to lose control of the key Flanders region in regional elections, casting doubt on the long-term survival of his federal government.

Juncker, a Christian Democrat and the EU's longest-serving leader, was set for triumphal re-election to govern the 450,000-strong Grand Duchy but has said he does not want the Brussels job.

The last polling stations were due to close at 2000 GMT, with first official results expected shortly afterwards.

About 14,700 candidates were contesting 732 seats in the increasingly powerful assembly, which has a major say on financial regulation, the EU's €100 billion annual budget, and transport, labour and environmental rules.

French Socialists were expected to profit from anger at the centre-right government's social security reforms, while voters in many new member states may punish incumbent governments for corruption and pain caused by free market reforms.

In Austria, the opposition Socialists slightly outpolled Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel's Christian Democrats but the big news was the collapse of Joerg Haider's anti-immigration, hard right Freedom Party, which crashed to 6.4 per cent from 23.4 per cent in the last European election.

In a bid to stir public excitement, candidates included a Czech porn queen, an Estonian supermodel, several sports stars, two astronauts and a Nobel prize winner.

Surveys suggested a low turnout, barely above the record low of 49.8 per cent in 1999, reflecting popular disenchantment with EU institutions, often perceived as distant and elitist.

In the Czech Republic and Latvia, exit polls suggested the opposition had beaten government parties, with the eurosceptic Czech Civic Democrats snatching 30 per cent, compared with 10 per cent for Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla's Social Democrats.

In the Netherlands, which voted on Thursday, the centre-right coalition led by Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende suffered a moderate setback, with the Socialists and a former EU whistleblower making gains.

In Italy, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was expected to suffer at the polls for his support of the US-led Iraq war.

Spain looked poised to defy the anti-government trend, with socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero certain to consolidate his gains in general elections three months ago thanks to his decision to pull Spanish troops from Iraq.

Poland's 20 per cent unemployment and a series of sleaze scandals have boosted popularity of populist farm leader Andrzej Lepper, who calls mainstream politicians "bandits". In general, far-right, nationalist and eurosceptic parties were likely to make a strong showing by exploiting voter fears of immigration and the prospect of a European superstate.