Voting to elect regional European Union lawmakers for the next five-year term ended after the last remaining polling stations in Italy closed as rising far-right parties dealt a physical blow to the bloc’s two most important leaders: French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Official results were expected anytime after Italian polling stations closed at 11:00 pm local time (2100 GMT), officially ending a four-day election marathon across the bloc’s 27 member countries.
An initial forecast provided by the European Union showed that far-right parties were making big gains in the European Parliament.
In France, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party. dominated the polls to the point that Macron immediately dissolved the national parliament and called for new elections, which poses a huge political risk as his party could suffer even greater losses, complicating the remainder of his presidential term, which ends in 2027.
Le Pen gladly accepted the challenge. “We are ready to turn the country around, ready to defend the interests of the French, ready to end mass immigration,” she said, echoing the rallying cry of many far-right leaders in other countries who were celebrating significant victories.
Macron admitted defeat. “I have heard your message, your concerns, and I will not leave them unanswered,” he said, adding that calling early elections only underscored his democratic credentials.
In Germany, the most populous country in the 27-nation bloc, forecasts are indicated that the AfD has overcome a string of scandals involving its main candidate, rising to 16.5% from 11% in 2019. For comparison, the combined result of the three parties in Germany’s ruling coalition barely exceeded 30%.
Scholz suffered such a disgraceful fate that his longtime Social Democratic party fell behind the far-right Alternative for Germany, which ended up in second place. “After all the prophecies of doom, after the shelling of the last few weeks, we are the second strongest force,” said a jubilant AfD leader Alice Weidel.
The four-day election in the 27-nation EU marked the world’s second-largest display of democracy after recent elections in India. In the end, the rise of the far right has been even more stunning than many analysts predicted.
The French National Rally crystallized it as it won more than 30%, or about twice as much as Macron’s pro-European centrist Renewal party, which is projected to reach around 15%.
In the EU as a whole, two main and pro-European groups—Christian Democrats and Socialists—remained the dominant forces. The gains of the far right came at the expense of the Greens, who were expected to lose about 20 seats and return to sixth position in the legislature. Macron’s Renew group, which supports the business, also suffered heavy losses.
For decades, the European Union, whose roots lie in the defeat of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, has confined the hard right to the political fringes. Thanks to a strong showing in this election, the far right is now poised to become a major player in policies ranging from migration to security and climate.
Bucking this trend was former EU leader and current Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who defeated Law and Justice, the national conservative party that governed Poland from 2015-2023, and took it further to the right. The poll showed Tusk’s party winning with 38% of the vote compared to 34% for his arch-enemy.
“Of these large, ambitious countries, among the leaders of the EU, Poland has shown that democracy, honesty and Europe prevail here,” Tusk told his supporters. “I’m so touched.”
He said: “We have shown that we are a light of hope for Europe.”
Germany, traditionally a stronghold of environmentalists, has become a poster child for the humiliation of the greens, whose share is forecast to have fallen from 20% to 12%. With further losses expected in France and other countries, a defeat for the Greens could well have an impact on the EU’s overall position. climate change policystill the most progressive in the world.
The center-right Christian Democratic bloc of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, which has already weakened its green reputation dominated Germany ahead of the polls with almost 30%, easily beating Scholz’s Social Democrats, who had fallen to 14%, even trailing the AfD.
“What you have already established as a trend is all the better – the strongest force, stable, in difficult times and at a distance,” von der Leyen told her German supporters via video link from Brussels.
As in France, the far right, which had focused its campaign on migration and crime, was expected to make significant gains in Italy, where Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was expected to consolidate her power.
Voting continued late into the evening in Italy, with many of the 27 member countries yet to release any forecasts. However, the already published data confirmed earlier predictions: the elections will shift the bloc to the right and change its future. This can make EU legislation difficult to pass and decision-making can sometimes be paralyzed in the world’s largest trading bloc.
EU lawmakers, who are elected to five-year terms in the 720-seat parliament, have a say on issues ranging from financial rules to climate and agricultural policies. They approve the EU budget, which funds priorities including infrastructure projects, subsidies for farmers and aid delivered to Ukraine. And they have veto power over appointments to the powerful EU commission.
The elections will come as the confidence of voters in the bloc of about 450 million is tested. Over the past five years the EU has been shocked by the coronavirus pandemic, economic recession And energy crisis fueled by Europe’s largest land conflict since World War II. But political campaigns often focus on issues of concern in individual countries rather than broader European interests.
Following the latest 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. Polls give populists an edge France, Belgium, Austria and Italy.
“Right is good,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who leads a fiercely nationalist and anti-immigrant government, told reporters after the vote. “Going to the right is always good. Go right!”