THE European is virtually powerless. But it is one in a series of interlocking Market institutions which together are intended to coordinate capitalist attacks on the working class, as well as the exploited masses of the "Third was the need to give some popular legitimacy to these institutions rather urgent with the approach of a new recession lay behind the calling of last week's direct cicctions. But this manocuvre wasn't altogether successful, as the Only in the two countries where voting is compulsory (Belgium and Luxembourg) as well as in Iraly (where it is a civic duty" laid down in the conscitution), did the turn-out bear any celation co national clection figures. Otherwise additional number who stayed at home varied between 18 per cent (Ireland) and 45 per cent (Britain, where the turn-out was only 31.3 per cent).
So it is going to be difficult to pretend that the EBCs institutions now have some popular mandate particularly in Bricain.
Here the Tories won 60 seats with the support of only per percent of those entitled to vote. The lack of proportional representation (pathelically justified by some Labour LILICTS On the srounds that shouldn't have anything to do with such a nasty Continental idea made the whole thing even more farcical, with each Labour member representing more than twice as many votes as Furthermore, an ITN poli showed a direct link between the massive abstention in Britain and opposition to the Common Market. Their sample showed anti-BEC feeling running at 2 non-voters, two-thirds of those voting pro-EEC If accurate on a national scale, thi would show per percent against the EEC — a position hardly reflected in the choice of candidates available So what of those who offered a socialist alternative to the BLISSE Common Market? The Trotskyist Fourth International ran a campaign United Socialist States Europe in all nine EEC countries (as well as the three applying to join), but was only able to stand candidates in four.
By •tar the most suopess ful campaign was run in France. Here che FI's section, che LCR, ran a contion slate with Lutte Ouvrière (Workers Struggle). This won 622,506 votes (3.09 per cent), which should have