Supporters of France’s far-right national rally react at the party’s election-night headquarters in Paris on Sunday.
Louis Jolly/AP
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Louis Jolly/AP
BRUSSELS — Far-right parties scored such a huge victory in European Union parliamentary elections that they suffered stunning defeats against the bloc’s two most important leaders: French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
In France, where Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party dominates the polls, Macron immediately dissolved the National Assembly and called for new elections, a huge political risk as his party could suffer more The loss would hamper the remainder of his presidential term, which ends in 2027.
In Germany, Scholz met such an ignominious fate that his historic Social Democratic Party fell behind the far-right Alternative for Germany, which surged into second place.
To add insult to injury, 28-year-old Jordan Bardella, the leading candidate at the national rally, immediately adopted a presidential tone when delivering a victory speech in Paris, opening with “My dear compatriots” and adding “France The people have rendered their verdict” and it is final. “
Macron admits defeat. “I have heard your message, your concerns, and I will not ignore them,” he said, adding that calling an early election would only underline his democratic credentials.
The four-day poll across 27 EU countries is the world’s second-largest democratic exercise, after India’s recent elections. Ultimately, the rise of the far right was more alarming than many analysts predicted. France’s national rally received just over 30% of the vote, about twice as much as Macron’s centrist pro-European Ennahda party, which is expected to reach around 15%.
In Germany, the most populous of the 27-member country, forecasts show support for the AfD rising to 16.5% from 11% in 2019 after overcoming a series of scandals involving its top candidate. The party’s comprehensive results show that the support rate of the parties in Germany’s ruling coalition barely exceeds 30%.
Overall, across the EU, two mainstream and pro-European groups, the Christian Democrats and the Socialists, remain the dominant forces. The far-right’s gains come at the expense of the Greens, who are expected to lose about 20 seats and fall to sixth place in the legislature.
For decades, the European Union, born out of the defeat of Nazi Germany and fascist Italy, kept the hard right confined to the political fringes. With its strong showing in these elections, the far right may now become a major player in policy ranging from immigration to security and climate.
The Greens’ support in Germany, a traditional bastion of environmentalists, is expected to fall from 20% to 12%, while support in France and several other EU countries is expected to fall even more. Their failure is likely to have consequences for the EU’s overall climate change policy, which remains the most progressive in the world.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s centre-right Christian Democrats, which had already eroded its green credentials ahead of the polls, dominated Germany with nearly 30% of the vote, easily defeating Scholz’s Socialist Party For the Democratic Party, the latter’s support rate fell to 14%, even behind the German Social Democratic Party.
“You have set the trend for the better – the strongest force, the stabilizing force, in difficult times and from a distance,” von der Leyen told her German supporters via video link from Brussels.
As in France, the immigration- and crime-focused far-right is expected to make significant gains in Italy, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expected to consolidate power.
Voting in Italy will continue into the night, with many of the 27 member states yet to issue any forecasts. Nonetheless, the data that have been released confirm previous predictions: the EU’s large-scale democratic practice is expected to shift the EU to the right and realign its future.
The EU may find it more difficult to pass legislation as centrist seats are lost to far-right parties, and decision-making in the world’s largest trading bloc may at times be paralyzed.
EU lawmakers serve five-year terms in the 720-seat parliament and have a say on issues such as financial rules, climate and agricultural policy. They approved an EU budget that funds priorities such as infrastructure projects, agricultural subsidies and aid to Ukraine. They have veto power over appointments to the powerful European Commission.
These elections come at a time when the confidence of some 450 million voters is being tested. The European Union has been rocked over the past five years by the coronavirus pandemic, economic recession and an energy crisis triggered by Europe’s worst land conflict since World War II. But political campaigns tend to focus on issues of concern to individual countries rather than broader European interests.
Marathon voting begins in the Netherlands on Thursday, with unofficial exit polls suggesting the anti-immigration far-right party Geert Wilders will make important gains, although a coalition of pro-European parties may have lost ground. Pushed to second place.
Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander De Croo warned as the Flanders region voted that Europe was “under greater pressure than ever”.
Since the last EU elections in 2019, populist or far-right parties now lead the governments of three countries: Hungary, Slovakia and Italy, and are part of governing coalitions in other countries including Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands. Polls show a populist advantage in France, Belgium, Austria and Italy.
“Right is good,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who leads a hard-line nationalist and anti-immigration government, told reporters after the vote. “It’s always good to go to the right. Go to the right!”
After the election, there will be a period of bargaining as the political parties reconsider their positions in the European Parliamentary Union.
The largest political group – the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) – has moved further to the right in the current election on issues such as security, climate and migration.
One of the most closely watched questions is whether the Italian Brotherhood – the populist Meloni’s ruling party with neo-fascist roots – remains within the more hardline European conservative and reformist groupings, or becomes a possible formation Part of a new hard-right group. Meloni also has the option of partnering with EPP.
A more worrying scenario for pro-European parties would be if the European Revolutionary Party and Le Pen’s Identity and Democracy groups joined forces to consolidate the influence of the far right.
The second largest group – the centre-left Socialists and Democrats – and the Greens rejected an alliance with the European Communist Party.
Questions also remain about what groups Orban’s ruling Fidesz party might join. It was previously part of the EPP but was forced to withdraw in 2021 due to conflicting interests and values. The far-right Alternative for Germany has been kicked out of the Identity and Democracy group following a series of scandals surrounding the two leading candidates for the European Parliament.
The election also comes at a time of uncertainty as European institutions elect new leaders. As lawmakers jockey for seats in the coalition, national governments will compete to secure the EU’s top jobs for their own officials.
Chief among them is the presidency of the European Commission, the powerful executive branch that proposes laws and oversees to ensure they are respected. The commission also controls the EU’s finances, regulates trade and is Europe’s competition regulator.
Other important positions include European Council president, chairing summits of presidents and prime ministers, and EU foreign policy chief, the bloc’s top diplomat.
