Projection of the election results on the big screen at the headquarters of the European People’s Party in Brussels, on June 09, 2024. | Photo Credit: AP
Elections for the EU’s next parliament came to a close on June 9 for millions of people, from Vilnius to Madrid, with early exit polls showing far-right gains at a crucial time for the bloc.
Preliminary results are due at the end of June 9, but the far-right party is already on track to take first place in Austria and second in Germany – where the results resulted in a stinging defeat for Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Although centrist forces are still expected to dominate the next European Parliament, anti-immigrant parties have spread across the bloc.
Much of the attention is now on France, the bloc’s second largest economy after Germany.
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s National Rally is predicted to score around 30%, a big jump from five years ago – and double President Emmanuel Macron’s liberal score.
In the French city of Lyon, voter Albert Coulaudon, 83, said Macron had “interfered” in many international issues such as the war in Ukraine. “That scares me,” he said.
More than 360 million people in the 27 EU countries are eligible to vote, in the four days from June 6, to help shape the direction of the European Union for the next five years.
The election comes as the continent grapples with Russia’s war in Ukraine, global trade tensions marked by US-China rivalry, a climate emergency and the troubling prospect of a new Donald Trump presidency.
“Now we live in a scenario of uncertainty,” Jaime Bajo, the operator of the sports center, said during the vote in Madrid.
“I can understand that people feel fear and vote with a tough mindset,” said the 40-year-old, who predicted the “rise of extremist forces” in Europe.
The bloc’s next parliament will help decide who becomes the powerful European Commission, with German conservative Ursula von der Leyen vying for a second term.
Far-right Ascendant
European voters, hammered by the high cost of living and some fearing immigrants as a source of social ills, are increasingly swayed by populist messaging.
The Centrist Party is expected to keep most of the legislative seats at 720 seats, but opinion polls show it will be weakened by a stronger right that is pushing the bloc towards ultraconservatism.
In Germany, turnout was the highest since 1979 at 64%. But this did not save Chancellor Olaf Scholz from a gloomy night – with all three parties in the coalition behind the problems of the conservatives and the right, the polls came out.
At 14%, Scholz’s Social Democrats trail the far-right Alternative for Germany, which looks set to win between 16% and 16.5%, and is behind the conservative CDU-CSU bloc at 29.5%.
In Austria, the far-right Freedom Party is leading the vote count according to opinion polls, the first time the group has topped a national poll in the Alpine country.
Florentine Bonaert, a 32-year-old business owner in Vienna did not announce who she voted for, but said that “migration policy is very important” to her, as well as climate change and its impact on future generations.
In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders’ far-right Freedom Party was beaten into second place with 17.7% by the Green-Labour coalition led by former EU commissioner Frans Timmermans, EU parliament estimates show.
In Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s far-right party, the Brothers of Italy, is expected to come out on top.
Meloni is being courted by Ms von der Leyen – who needs support for a second term – as well as Ms. Le Pen and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who want to form a far-right parliamentary supergroup.
War worries
Hungarian leaders have fueled fears that the Ukraine war is developing into one between the West and Russia, blaming Brussels and NATO. When voting, they consider it a “pro-peace or pro-war election”.
But in the countries of the eastern European Union, the specter of the Russian threat looms large.
“I want security, especially for the Baltic countries. And greater support for Ukraine to end the war,” said Ieva Sterlinge, a 34-year-old Latvian doctor.
Also in Romania, psychologist Teodora Maia said she chose “the theme of war, which worries us all, and ecology”.