Voting on the European Union’s regional representatives for the following five-year term has ended after the last remaining polling stations closed in Italy, with rising far-right parties dealing a serious blow to 2 of the bloc’s most vital politicians, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Official results were expected at any moment after Italian polling stations closed at 11pm local time (9pm GMT), officially ending a four-day voting marathon within the bloc’s 27 member countries.
According to an initial forecast by the European Union, right-wing extremist parties have made major gains within the European Parliament.
In France, the Rassemblement Nationale party of Marine Le Pen dominated the polls The situation was so bad that Macron immediately dissolved the national parliament and called recent elections – an enormous political risk as his party could suffer further losses, endangering him for the remaining of his term, which ends in 2027.
Le Pen accepted the challenge with gusto. “We are ready to turn the country around, we are ready to defend the interests of the French, we are ready to put an end to mass immigration,” she said, echoing the battle cry of so many far-right politicians in other countries who celebrated significant electoral victories.
Macron acknowledged the blow of defeat. “I have heard your message, your concerns, and I will not leave them unanswered,” he said, adding that calling recent elections only underscores his democratic credibility.
In Germany, probably the most populous country of the 27 member states, Projections given that the AfD rose from 11 percent in 2019 to 16.5 percent despite a series of scandals surrounding its top candidate. By comparison, the combined results of the three parties within the German government coalition was barely above 30 percent.
Scholz suffered such a shameful fate that his traditional Social Democrats party fell behind the far-right Alternative for Germany, which moved as much as second place. “After all the prophecies of doom, after the barrage of the last few weeks, we are the second strongest force,” rejoiced AfD leader Alice Weidel.
The four-day elections within the 27 EU countries were the second largest demonstration for democracy on the planet after the recent elections in India. In the top, the rise of the far right was much more astonishing than many analysts had predicted.
The French Rassemblement National demonstrated this with over 30 percent, about twice as much as Macron’s pro-European, centrist Renew party, which is predicted to achieve around 15 percent.
Overall, two established and pro-European groups, the Christian Democrats and the Socialists, remained the dominant forces within the EU. The gains of the acute right got here on the expense of the Greens, who’re expected to lose around 20 seats and fall to sixth place in parliament. Macron’s pro-business Renew group also suffered major losses.
For a long time, the European Union, whose roots lie within the defeat of Nazi Germany and fascist Italy, has relegated the far right to the political margins. With their strong showing in these elections, the far-right could now grow to be a serious player in policies starting from migration to security and climate.
Bucking the trend was former EU politician and current Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who defeated the national conservative Law and Justice party, which governed Poland from 2015 to 2023, and pushed it ever further to the proper. According to at least one poll, Tusk’s party won with 38 percent, in comparison with 34 percent for his arch-enemy.
“Of these big, ambitious countries, of the EU leaders, Poland has shown that democracy, honesty and Europe win here,” Tusk told his supporters. “I am deeply moved.”
He said: “We have shown that we are a light of hope for Europe.”
Germany, traditionally a stronghold of environmentalists, was an example of the humiliation of the Greens, whose vote share was expected to fall from 20% to 12%. With further losses expected in France and elsewhere, the Greens’ defeat could well have implications for overall EU reform. Climate policystill probably the most advanced on the planet.
The centre-right bloc of Christian Democrats around EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, which has already weakened its ecological credentials Before the polls, it dominated Germany with almost 30 percent, easily beating Scholz’s Social Democrats, who fell to 14 percent and even lagged behind the AfD.
“All the better is what you have already set as a trend – the strongest force, stable, in difficult times and with distance,” von der Leyen told her German supporters via video link from Brussels.
In addition to France, the acute right was also expected to make great success in Italy, where it focused its election campaign on the problems of migration and crime. There, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was seen because the favourite to consolidate her power.
In Italy, voting lasted until late within the evening, and most of the 27 member states haven’t yet released forecasts. Nevertheless, data already released confirmed earlier predictions: the elections will shift the bloc to the proper and reorient its future. That could make it harder for the EU to pass laws and temporarily paralyze the decision-making process on the planet’s largest trading bloc.
EU lawmakers, who serve a five-year term within the 720-seat Parliament, have a say on issues starting from financial rules to climate and agricultural policy. They approve the EU budget, which incorporates priorities akin to infrastructure projects, agricultural subsidies and Aid deliveries to UkraineAnd they’ve a right of veto relating to appointing members to the powerful EU Commission.
These elections come at a time when the arrogance of voters in a bloc of around 450 million people is being tested. Over the past five years, the EU has been shaken by the coronavirus pandemica Economic downturn and a Energy crisis fuelled by the biggest land conflict in Europe since World War II. But political campaigns often give attention to problems of individual countries fairly than broader European interests.
Since the last EU elections in 2019, populist or far-right parties now lead governments in three countries – Hungary, Slovakia and Italy – and are a part of governing coalitions in others, including Sweden, Finland and shortly the Netherlands. Polls give populists a bonus in France, Belgium, Austria and Italy.
“Going right is good,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who leads a stridently nationalist and anti-immigration government, told reporters after casting his vote. “Going right is always good. Go right!”
