The Role of Television in European Elections: The Cases of Belgium and Denmark

Abstract

Direct election to the European Parliament was introduced in 1979, when the first direct election took place. The second direct election was held in 1984 and the third in 1989 after the decision to create a Single European Market. Traditionally, a large proportion of national election campaigns consists of television coverage. Given plans for greater European integration in becomes increasingly relevant to study the role of national television in the process of European integration. This article focuses on the use of television in Belgium and Denmark, with different aspects of European election campaigns on television being highlighted. Was the role of television the same in these two countries on the issue of election to the European Parliament? Or did it follow a pattern to be expected due to a differentiation between Belgium and Denmark based on ideas of EC centre and periphery? Using data collected as part of a systematic content analysis of EC issues on television programmes in 1979, 1984 and 1989, we look at the structure of the European election campaigns on the national TV channels in these two small EC countries. How did television access for political parties compare with national elections? Further, what changes have there been over this period, and to what degree did changes in the media structure influence the use of television?