In this special edition, we dive into the big issues dominating the European elections and ponder whether voters will bother to turn out.
This week, in a special edition, that we taped with an interactive audience at the Microsoft Technology Centre in Brussels, we are joined by MEP Samira Rafaela, Dara Murphy, who led the European People’s Party campaign in 2019, the European Parliament’s Philipp Schulmeister and Shada Islam, Managing Director at New Horizons Project.
Panellists discussed what might become of the European Parliament after elections taking place on 6-9 June – including who might be the new faces of the EU’s institutions and whether they truly represent Europe’s multicultural society.
“It has been tough for me as a young woman of colour in this Parliament, I must say,” said Samira Rafaela, a Dutch lawmaker from Renew Europe, who isn’t standing for re-election. “It was a marathon. We need a new generation, a fresh generation coming in.”
Shada Islam expressed her concerns for the next five years – with emotional and rational reflexes sometimes conflicting.
“Why would I be voting in a situation where I know the far right is going to increase its power and influence, both inside government and outside it?”, Islam said. “And then my head says: well, if you don’t vote, that’s a vote for that, that will increase it.”
Guests also discussed the political figures fighting to be president of the European Commission, and how voters will determine the outcome, given that major parties have all selected a lead candidate for the position.
Watch “Brussels, my love?” in the player above.
This special edition is brought to you with the support of Microsoft.
