Romano Prodi comments on Poles tragically low turnout in EU election

Romano Prodi, the head of the European Commission, said on Wednesday that the low turnout in the European Parliament elections in Poland was the result of "weariness" of the nation, rather than the expression of dissatisfaction with EU membership. Voter frequency in Poland was just 20.9%, the second from the lowest. "They had a referendum, they took part in it and now they have to sit down and look on how [the EU] works. This has given them reason for some kind of worry. However, we see a high degree of content with the presence of Poland in the EU, even in the countryside where we had most of the problems," said Prodi. With regard to the citizens of older member states of the EU, Prodi said that, "Europe has not met their expectations. They expressed their frustration and disappointment by not going to the ballot box." (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 8) M.M.