My conclusion is that you vote to express your part in, and support for, your group (however you define it). Getting a candidate accepted as the probable winner gets the people who wants to identify with the winning party. Getting a candidate defined as the underdog gets those that wants to identify with the underdog. And so on. A vote for PES is a vote for EPP! A vote for EPP is a vote for PES! Support the coalition, vote EPP-PES in 2009!
There was a point made that on the referendum on the Spanish Constitution of 1978 a lot of the campaigning was against abstention. Those unreconstructed fascists who voted against fell in the trap of validating the democratic system by casting a vote. We have met the enemy, and he is us — Pogo
