Garcevic Publishes OpEd on EU Parliamentary Elections
Ambassador Vesko Garcevic, Professor of the Practice of International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, published a recent Op-Ed discussing the importance of the upcoming elections for the European Parliament.
Garcevic’s Op-Ed, entitled “EU Parliamentary Elections: A Tipping Point for Modern Europe?” was published by Just Security on May 22, 2019.
From the text of the article:
Demonstrators took to the streets of Vienna last weekend to express their outrage over the latest political scandal, known as the‘Ibiza affair.’A video that was filmed secretly two years ago and just revealed showed the leader of the far-right Austrian Freedom Party, Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, offering public contracts to a woman posing as a niece of Russian oligarch Igor Makarov. In exchange, she promised financial support for Strache’s party and media coverage for his political campaign.Der Spiegel,the influential German weekly known for its investigative journalism, broke thestory. Strache resigned his post, and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz dissolved his government shortly after the footage became public.
Almost at the same time, just a few hundred miles away in Milan, Matteo Salvini, the Italian anti-immigrant Interior Minister and leader of the right-wing League party, delivered a speech to thousands of exuberant supporters at a rally of European populist movements. He wasaccompaniedby other European far-right leaders, including Marine Le Pen from France’s National Rally party and Joerg Meuthen from the Alternative for Germany party.
For Salvini, it was yet another opportunity to position himself as the leader of European populists and deliver his trademark criticism of the European Union. He denounced EU policy towards immigrants, described Islam as the biggest security threat to Europe, and pledged to return control of the EU to its citizens. And yet, Strache’s absence hinted of potential weaknesses in Salvini’s push for far-right strength in unity.
The May 18 protests in Vienna and Milan are emblematic of the deep divisions among European voters, as EU member states approach elections May 23-26 for the European Parliament. Usually an obscure event that draws little voter turnout, this year’s contest is different. The results may constitute a tipping point in modern European history.
During his diplomatic career, Amb. Vesko Garcevic dealt with issues pertinent to European security and NATO for almost 14 years. In 2004, he was posted in Vienna to serve as Ambassador to Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. He had been a Montenegro’s Ambassador to NATO from 2010 until 2014 and served as a Montenegro’s National Coordinator for NATO from 2015 until he joined the faculty at the Pardee School.