Germany's governing Social Democrats suffered their worst result in 50 years this evening as
voters across the continent used European Parliament elections to register protests on domestic issues on a low turnout.
As the last of nearly 350 million eligible voters in the enlarged 25-nation bloc were casting ballots, projections from the EU's most populous state pointed to huge gains for the opposition Christian Democrats and a humiliation for Chancellor Mr Gerhard Schroeder's SPD.
Beset by a stagnant economy and high unemployment, the Social Democrats polled just 23 per cent, their worst national score since World War Two, compared with about 46 per cent for
the CDU and its Bavarian sister-party.
Turnout in France and Spain appeared to be heading for a record low since direct elections to the Strasbourg-based European Union legislature began in 1979, projections showed.
The four-day exercise in cross-border democracy reached its climax as 19 countries voted in the poll that for the first time included members from behind the old "Iron Curtain", such as
Hungary and the Baltic states.
Six countries - including Ireland, Latvia, Malta, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Britain -- have already voted, and British Prime Minister Tony Blair seemed set to be punished for
his staunch support for the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
"People use elections in many countries to sanction their governments, with domestic issues rather than European- dominating debates," said Mr John Palmer, director of the Brussels-based European Policy Centre think-tank.