Taking advantage of EU apathy

Party members have set up marquees in the streets so passersbys can ask questions personally, rather than attending a rally with party enthusiasts where there is no interaction beyond the applause.

UPyD complains that the major media outlets in Spain — known for their political leanings — largely overlook it, leaving the party to reach out to citizens directly. From its humble beginnings without an office, UPyD has counted on word of mouth and the internet to motivate voters.

They have resusciated the pregonero, or old town-crier, in Spanish streets and squares and are distributing a video of his message on the internet.

Spain’s two largest parties are using this campaign to highlight each other’s failures in domestic issues. They realize citizens may cast a vote to “punish” the PSOE, the center-left ruling party in Spain, for the country’s 17 percent unemployment rate or the center-right PP for recent corruption scandals.

Defining itself as a “transversal party” convinced that “ideological divisions of right and left wing are obsolete,” as Garrido characterized it, UPyD is angling for those votes in a bid to bring EU politics back to the people.

Forty-five percent of eligible voters in Spain voted in the previous European elections, held in 2004, a far cry from 1987 when 69 percent of Spanish voters participated in the country’s first European elections. At that time, joining the EU was heralded as a return to the international arena after years of isolation under dictator Francisco Franco. Turnout is predicted to be even lower this time.

Initially, EU funds were used to invest in infrastructure, spurring the country’s economic development. But Spain is now a consolidated democratic country with an economy that ranks it above some G8 players, and development funds are diverted to newer, needier EU member states. Being European is taken for granted and many Spaniards can’t be bothered with voting in a European Parliament election.

“Europe doesn’t grab people," said Vallespin. "It’s far away from the life of citizens."

Read more on the European Parliament elections:

Reasons to care about the European Parliament elections

The Irish seek a way back into Europe

Austria's far-right shows strength

The European Parliament elections as beauty pageant

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