How to motivate voters to show up

There is little at stake in Sunday's election for the European Parliament. Domestic governance was settled in last year's double election and, barring unforeseen developments, the conservative government will rule for a full second term, ending in mid-2027.

There is a lot at stake for the European project itself, but electorates, in Greece and elsewhere, seem, and have long been, less than enthusiastically engaged.

For their own reasons, all Greek parties have a great interest in attracting as many votes as possible, even as they face the problem of what is called a "loose vote" in which party allegiance matters less than in a domestic election.

Ruling New Democracy has set its performance of 33.12% in the previous Euro election, on May 26, 2019, as the target it must match, if not exceed. A score in the high 20s, even if still far ahead of its nearest rival,...