The Community New Times

Although elections for the European Parliament may still be more symbolic than substantive, the balloting shattered British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's image of invincibility last week. Her Conservative Party suffered its first national defeat in nearly 15 years, capturing only 34.7% of the vote and losing 13 of its 45 European Parliament seats. By contrast, the left- leaning Labor Party totted up 40.2%, stirring dreams among Laborites of ousting Thatcher from power at home.

In West Germany, Chancellor Helmut Kohl's Christian Democrats received a blow as the new right-wing Republican Party, led by a former sergeant in Hitler's Waffen-SS, won 7% of the vote by capitalizing on fears of competition from foreign workers.

Elections for the Strasbourg-based assembly, once consigned to the status of a European debating society, are fast becoming a bellwether for European politics. Thatcher aides sought to downplay the Tory defeat by arguing that the culprit was domestic discontent with Britain's 15% interest rates and 8.3% inflation. Even critics within her own party scoffed, blaming her Britain- first, anti-European rhetoric at a time when Europe is moving toward economic integration in 1992. Said a Tory backbencher: "She got it drastically wrong."

Across Western Europe, the biggest gains were won by Green parties, which nearly doubled their representation, to 39 delegates. The environmentalists thus hold the balance of power in the 518-seat chamber, ensuring that their issues will be high on the European Community's agenda. West Germany's well- established Green contingent will be joined by delegations from other E.C. countries, including France and Italy. In Britain the Greens captured an impressive 15% of the vote but no seats because Britain does not have a proportional-repre sentation system.

As E.C. leaders hold their first postelection summit in Madrid this week, the big question is whether Thatcher's weakened position will cause her to be more conciliatory on two key proposals: a social charter intended to safeguard workers' rights and, more important, the eventual establishment of a single currency managed by a European central bank. Emboldened by the erosion of Thatcher's political strength, her fellow summiteers may decide to press on toward European unity, whatever her objections.