New Delhi: Early results from the elections to the European Parliament held over the weekend saw the humiliation of Germany’s ruling coalition as all three of its parties performed below expectations, and led to French President Emmanuel Macron calling a snap legislative election for later this month.
Although the final numbers are not yet out, the results across the continent are very good for Centre-Right and Far-Right political groupings, while the liberals and green parties are the main losers.
The Centre-Right European People’s Party (EPP) group is projected to gain seats, winning the most votes in Germany, Spain, Poland, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Croatia and Greece.
The EPP is predicted to win about 189 seats in the hemicycle (European Parliament). Similarly, the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) will remain the second largest political grouping in the EU for the next five years, forecast to win about 135 seats, four down from 2019.
The Centre-Left finished a close second in Spain and Italy, while resurrecting itself in France with a third place finish.
In Germany, the Centre-Left Social Democratic Party (SPD) fell to its lowest results in national elections in nearly a century, finishing third with about 14 percent of total votes cast in its favour.
The Far-Right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), finished second with 16.2 percent of votes projected in its favour after shaking off numerous scandals, including suspected espionage and allegations of Russian influence.
The incumbent European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, has a narrow path to a second term with results predicting that her EPP will remain the largest grouping in the hemicycle for the next five years.
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Aftershocks in France & Germany
Macron Sunday called for a snap election to the National Assembly, as the Rassemblement National (RN), the Far-Right party led by Marine Le Pen, is projected to win the European elections in France with about 31.5 percent of total votes.
“I have heard your message, your concerns and I will not leave them unanswered… France needs a clear majority to act in serenity and harmony,” said Macron as he called for the snap election, as reported by Reuters.
Adresse aux Français. https://t.co/sqVqfH3gXy
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 9, 2024
Macron’s own party, Renaissance, was projected to win about 14.6 percent of the total votes cast — a rejection of his government by voters, as reported by the French newspaper Le Monde.
According to Le Monde, Macron has been looking for an opportunity to call for a general election since the middle of May. The sudden decision overshadows the successful showing of the Socialist Party in France, which is projected to finish third with about 14 percent of the total votes.
France will now head to a two-round election for its National Assembly, scheduled for 30 June and 7 July.
Similarly, across the border in Germany, the ruling coalition of the Social Democrats, the Greens and the Free Democratic Party (FDP), faced a crushing blow. Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Centre-Left SPD is projected to finish third.
Support for the Greens fell by nearly half from 2019, while the FDP barely scraped through the elections and is forecasted to win about 5 percent of the total votes.
The Centre-Right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Germany is projected to win about 30.2 percent of the total votes cast, a slight increase from 2019. The Left-leaning populist party, Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW), is projected to win about 6.1 percent of the total votes — announcing its arrival on the German political stage after being founded earlier this year.
The final results for the polls across all 27 EU countries are likely to be released Monday.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
Also read: Why you need to know about European Parliament polls in June, 1st after Brexit & Russia-Ukraine war