Europeans vote in final days of election

PARIS -- From Sweden to Slovakia, Europeans in 19 countries chose from candidates for the EU parliament Sunday, wrapping up the bloc's first election since its historic expansion eastward in May.\nSix other countries, including Britain, had already cast ballots in the four-day election, seen as a report card for governments at home.\nIssues in the campaign ranged from Europe's role in Iraq to the European Union's difficult attempts to negotiate a constitution. Some parties see the charter as a threat to national sovereignty.\nAnother important question was the bid by predominantly Muslim Turkey to join the 25-member group.\nSome 14,670 candidates vied for 732 five-year seats. The election was a first for the 10 new EU countries, which include former communist countries like Poland and Hungary.\nBut even in many new member nations, politicians struggled to overcome voter apathy about the parliament, whose role is often misunderstood.\nAs polls opened across the EU, many voters focused on national issues, not European concerns.\nIn France, for example, many were expected to cast a censure vote against the conservative government, which has led unpopular reforms of pensions and other pillars of France's treasured social protections. The opposition Socialists were likely to profit.\nGermany's conservative opposition styled the election as an opportunity to punish Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's government for the country's stagnant economy and high unemployment.\nIn Hungary, political analyst Istvan Perger noted that hardly any campaign slogans even mentioned Europe, concentrating instead on disparaging opponents.\n"This campaign was not about Europe," Perger said. "It was about every party trying to consolidate its position on the domestic political landscape."\nThere were some quirky candidates, including a Slovenian soccer star, an Estonian supermodel and a Czech porn star who campaigned in provocative outfits.\nSome politicians focused on a single issue in campaigning. Hans Kronberger, a candidate for Austria's Freedom Party, has been featured on campaign posters saying: "Turkey in the EU? Not with me!" In Vienna, which has a sizable Turkish population, Adolf Hitler-style mustaches were drawn on several of the posters.\nIn Poland, spending cuts to meet EU requirements have reduced enthusiasm for membership, with unemployment at around 20 percent.\nThe disillusionment fueled popularity for Self-Defense leader Andrzej Lepper, who lambasted current political leaders as thieves who sold out the country's interests with their drive to join the EU.\nBalloting has already wrapped up in the Netherlands, Britain, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Malta and Latvia.\nSunday is Italy's second day of voting, and ballots were also to be cast in Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden.\nThough the European Parliament cannot introduce legislation, its powers have strengthened dramatically since its first elections in 1979. Then, it provided a balance against the EU's powerful unelected commission.\nNow, it has EU budget approval and influence over legislation on trade, environment and consumer affairs. Legislators shuttle back and forth between sessions in Strasbourg, France, and Brussels, Belgium.