June has been a cruel month for the European Union. Euroskeptics were the big winners in elections for the EU Parliament, although apathy rather than outright opposition to the EU project best captures voter sentiment. Then, last week, a second attempt to agree on a new constitution made progress only at the price of reduced ambitions. In both cases, the root cause is the same: European voters feel too distant from the EU.

The parliamentary elections held earlier this month were the first ballot since 10 new members joined the EU on May 1. This time turnout dipped to a record low 45.5 percent, meaning only 150 million of the eligible 350 million took the time to vote. In Latvia, nearly 40 percent of voters cast ballots; in the Czech Republic, turnout fell to 25 percent. In Slovakia, merely one voter in five bothered to cast a ballot; in Poland, the largest of the newcomers, the figure was only 21 percent.

When voters did go to the polls, they protested, punishing British Prime Minister Tony Blair for his support of the war in Iraq, German Prime Minister Gerhard Schroeder for ineffectual economic policies, and French President Jacques Chirac for cuts in social benefits. The result is an increasingly polarized assembly: center-right parties now hold 274 of 732 seats, retaining a plurality. The center-left is second with 201 seats, Liberal Democrats are third with 64, the Greens have 42 and the far left holds 36 seats.