between the United States and the Soviet Union . Ronald Reagan had launched the Star Shield strategic defence initiative and the first cracks were beginning to appear in the Soviet regime . The deaths of Brezhnev and Andropov and the short-lived appointment of Chernenko prepared the way for Gorbachev ’ s arrival in power . This geopolitical situation prompted Jacques Delors , the governments ’ chosen candidate to chair the European Commission , to try , unsuccessfully , to relaunch European defence , before falling back on the more pragmatic goal of establishing the single market .
These tensions weighed on the 1984 election campaign by marginalising the European debates and instead exalting the national dimensions of confrontations between parties , facilitated by the fact that , once again , the elections were held under 10 different electoral systems . In addition , there was an unmistakable signal that the governments were leaning toward renouncing Spinelli ’ s constituent method and following the intergovernmental route , preceded by the appointment of yet another committee of wise men ( the Dooge Committee ).
The 1984 elections altered the political balance in the European Parliament . The campaign was a success for the Socialist Group , which increased its number of MEPs from 113 to 130 . The European People ’ s Party Group showed resilience , growing from 107 to 110 MEPs at the expense of the conservative European Democrats , who plummeted from 64 to 50 , despite Margaret Thatcher ’ s success in the British elections . The Liberal Group was reduced from 40 to 31 MEPs , and the losses of the French Communist Party were compensated by support for the Italian Communist Party , which overtook the Christian Democrats as Italy ’ s biggest party , driven by emotion over the sudden death of Enrico Berlinguer . Out of the June elections emerged a more fragmented Parliament containing two new groups : the so-called Rainbow Group , formed by environ-
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