Far-right parties shook the traditional powers of the European Union with significant gains in parliamentary seats, delivering a particularly humiliating defeat to French President Emmanuel Macron, who called early legislative elections.
Some ballots from the European Parliament vote were still being counted on Monday, but the result showed that the 27-nation bloc’s parliament membership has shifted clearly to the right. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni more than doubled her party’s seats in the assembly. And despite being beset by a scandal involving candidates, the far-right Alternative for Germany party still gathered enough seats to overtake Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats.
Sensing a threat from the far right, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s Christian Democrats had already moved further to the right on migration and climate before the election, and were rewarded by remaining by far the largest group of the 720 seats. European Parliament and de facto intermediaries of the increasing powers of the legislature.
But the rise of nationalist and populist parties across Europe will make it much harder for the assembly to pass legislation on issues ranging from climate change to agricultural policy over the next five years.
But undoubtedly the star of a stunning election night was Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party, which dominated French polls to such an extent that Macron immediately dissolved the national parliament and called for new elections later this month. It was a huge political risk as his party could suffer further losses, hampering the remainder of his presidential term that ends in 2027.
Le Pen gladly accepted the challenge. “We are ready to change the country, ready to defend the interests of the French, ready to end mass immigration,” he said, echoing the rallying cry of so many far-right leaders in other countries who were celebrating substantial victories.
His National Rally won more than 30%, or about double that of Macron’s pro-European centrist Renew party, which is projected to get less than 15%.
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Macron recognized the thud of defeat. “I have heard his message, his concerns, and I will not leave them unanswered,” he said, adding that calling early elections only underlined his democratic credentials.
In Germany, the most populous country in the EU, projections indicated that the AfD scandals had not deterred voters, who increased to 16.5%, up from 11% in 2019. By comparison, the combined result of the three parties in the German government coalition barely exceeded 30%.
Scholz’s ruling Social Democratic Party was humiliated when Alternative for Germany moved into second place. “After all the doom prophecies, after the bombing of recent weeks, we are the second strongest force,” said jubilant AfD leader Alice Weidel.
Overall, across the EU, two traditional, pro-European groups, the Christian Democrats and the Socialists, continued to dominate the vote that concluded on Sunday. The far-right’s gains came at the expense of the Greens, who were expected to lose about 20 seats and fall back to sixth place in the legislature. Macron’s pro-business group Renew also lost big.
Having flirted during the campaign with the idea of working with a more right-wing political group, von der Leyen offered on Sunday night to build a coalition with the Social Democrats, who mostly held firm in the election, and the pro-business liberals.
“We are by far the strongest party, we are the anchor of stability,” von der Leyen said. Reflecting on the rise of the far right and the good results of the far left, he added that the result brings “great stability for the centrist parties.” “We all have an interest in stability and we all want a strong and effective Europe.”
In the legislature, provisional results showed that the Christian Democrats would obtain 189 seats, up 13, the Social Democrats 135, up 4 and the pro-business group Renew 83, down 19. The Greens fell to 53, 18 less.
Germany, traditionally a stronghold for environmentalists, exemplified the humiliation of the Greens, who were predicted to fall from 20% to 12%. With further losses expected in France and elsewhere, the Greens’ defeat could well have an impact on the EU’s climate change policies, which remain the most progressive in the world.
Senior members of the party in the EU parliament were due to hold talks on Monday to see what alliances could be established. The key to the future functioning of the assembly will be whether the far right unites into a bloc strong enough to challenge the main pro-European groups.
The election comes at a testing time for voter confidence in a bloc of some 450 million people. Over the past five years, the EU has been rocked by the coronavirus pandemic, an economic crisis and an energy crisis fueled by Russia’s war in Ukraine. But campaigns often focused on individual country issues rather 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 part of governing coalitions in others, including Sweden, Finland and, soon, the Netherlands .
Associated Press writers Sylvain Plazy in Brussels and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.
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