The Rise Of The Right: EU Parliamentary Elections Signal Major Political Shift
Voters across 27 EU nations have elected 720 members of the European Parliament, who will serve for the next five years. Despite internal divisions on issues such as Russia, far-right parties are expected to exert significant influence on EU policies, particularly regarding immigration and climate change.
Centre-right and far-right parties are set to secure the largest number of seats in key nations such as Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Poland.
France has witnessed a dramatic turn towards the right, with the far-right National Rally (RN). The party, led by Marine Le Pen, gained approximately 32% of the vote, more than double the support for President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party. These results led to Macron dissolving the French parliament and calling for early snap elections. Jordan Bardella, President of the National Rally, stated that the government must heed the people’s message.
In Germany, the centre-right has achieved a comfortable victory with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) securing second place, overtaking Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Socialists. This development again shows the growing influence of the far-right politics… in a country that has long grappled with its historical associations with fascism, no less.
Italy has also seen a rightward shift, with Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing party securing approximately 28% of the vote. This result is showing the increasingly appeal of far-right ideologies in one of Europe’s largest countries. Poland and Spain have similarly experienced a surge in support for right-wing parties.
In Hungary, the right wing also received the most votes by 44%, but in comparison to their 2022 general elections, the party dropped by a whopping 11%. The Netherlands saw the right gaining additional seats, with the centre-right also maintaining dominance in Greece and Bulgaria.
Meanwhile, looking at a local perspective, it was not quite the result the Maltese islands might’ve been expecting. With more people contesting as independents or with third parties, far-right party leader Norman Lowell was in the Top Seven in the latest MEP survey. Fast forward to last weekend’s elections, and Lowell lost 1,569 first-count votes when compared to the number of votes he received in 2019.
The election results highlight a notable shift in voter sentiment across many EU member-states, reflecting growing opposition to certain EU policies and a desire for change, which the more centrist parties will need to address to maintain cohesion and progress within the EU framework.
Do you think this latest shift towards the right is worrying, or just a sign of the times?