The rise of the far right in Europe

BRUSSELS (AP) — Far-right parties shook traditional powers in the European Union with major advances in the European Parliament and dealt an especially humiliating defeat to French President Emmanuel Macron, who called early legislative elections.

Some counting continued on Monday, although the result showed a clear shift to the right in the makeup of the 27-nation European chamber. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni won more than double the number of seats she had before in the European Assembly. And although her candidates were embroiled in scandal, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party gained enough MEPs to overtake German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats.

Perceiving a threat from the far right, the Christian Democrats led by the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, had already turned to the right on immigration and climate issues before the elections, and were rewarded by remaining the most large by far in the 720-seat European Parliament, effectively giving them control over the growing powers of the legislative chamber.

But the rise of nationalist and populist parties across Europe would make it much more difficult for the assembly to pass laws on issues such as climate change or agricultural policy over the next five years.

The star of election night was undoubtedly Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, which dominated the French elections to such an extent that Macron immediately dissolved the national parliament and called for new elections starting this month. It was a high political risk given that his party could lose more strength, complicating the rest of his presidential term that ends in 2027.

Le Pen gladly accepted the challenge. “We are ready to redirect the country, ready to defend the interests of the French, ready to put an end to mass immigration,” he said, echoing the campaign themes of many far-right leaders in other countries, who were celebrating considerable victories.

His National Rally won 30% of the vote, around double that of Macron’s pro-European centrist party, which was estimated to get less than 15%.

Macron conceded defeat. “I have heard his message, his concerns, and I will not leave them unanswered,” he said, adding that calling early elections only reinforced his democratic record.

In Germany, the most populous country in the EU, estimates indicated that the scandals had not deterred AfD voters, which won 16.5% support, compared to 11% in 2019. By comparison, the results combined of the three parties in the German government coalition barely exceeded 30%.

Scholz’s social democratic party, which leads the government, was humiliated by the Alternative for Germany’s second place finish. “After all the catastrophic prophecies, after the barrage of recent weeks, we are the second strongest force,” enthused AfD leader Alice Weidel.

Overall, across the EU, two traditional, pro-European groups, the Christian Democrats and the Socialists, dominated the votes that concluded on Sunday. The advances of the far right came at the expense of the Greens, who expected to lose about 20 seats and finish in sixth position in the chamber. Macron’s pro-business group, Renew, also lost a lot of ground.

After flirting during the campaign with the idea of ​​working with a political group further to the right, Von der Leyen offered on Sunday to form a coalition with the Social Democrats, who mostly held on in the elections, and with the pro-business liberals.

“We are by far the strongest party. “We are the pillar of stability,” said Von der Leyen. In a comment on the rise of the far right and the good result of the far left, he added that the result brought “great stability for the parties in the center. “We all have an interest in stability and we all want a strong and effective Europe.”

The provisional results showed that the Christian Democrats would have 189 MEPs, 13 more than before, the Social Democrats 134, four less, and Renovar 83, 19 less than before. The Greens fell to 53, with 18 fewer parliamentarians.

Germany, a traditional bastion of environmentalists, was an example of the setback to the Greens, who were expected to go from 20% of votes to 12%. The movement was also expected to lose in France and elsewhere, a defeat that could well have an impact on changing the EU’s climate policies, which remain the most progressive in the world.

Senior MEPs were scheduled to hold meetings on Monday to see what alliances could be formed. A key to the functioning of the assembly is whether the far-right parties form a bloc strong enough to challenge the large pro-European parties.

The elections came at a difficult time for voter confidence in a block of some 450 million inhabitants. Over the past five years, the EU has been rocked by the coronavirus pandemic, an economic decline and an energy crisis fueled by Russia’s war in Ukraine. But often the campaign focused on national issues rather than broader European interests.

Since the previous EU elections in 2019, populist or far-right parties lead governments in three countries – Hungary, Slovakia and Italy – and are part of government coalitions in others, such as Sweden, Finland and, soon, the Netherlands.