LEFT: Prime Minister Theresa May welcomes France President Emmanuel Macron to the UK-France Summit, at Sandhurst. January 18, 2018. Photo courtesy of Number 10. RIGHT: Reception from Santiago Abascal to Marine Le Pen at the Madrid Summit 01.28.2022 Photo Vox Espana.
European voters took to the polls Sunday to reject the continent’s growing globalism by electing right-wing party candidates in greater numbers than ever before to European Parliament positions. The vote has already resulted in the downfall of the Belgian prime minister and plans by France’s Emmanuel Macron to hold snap elections after his party lost to Marine Le Pen’s National Rally. The Wall Street Journal reports:
Right-wing parties put on a show of strength in European Union elections, prompting French President Emmanuel Macron to call parliamentary elections and underscoring German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s position lagging behind two rival parties, according to initial projections.
Sunday’s results still appeared to leave the mainstream pro-EU parties with a lock on power in Brussels. The center-right EU political grouping that now leads the bloc looked set to win the most seats in the European Parliament, boosting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s hopes of keeping her job for a second term. She has forged a close working relationship with the Biden administration.
Still, France’s far-right opposition party National Rally looked set to be among the pan-European election’s biggest winners. Marine Le Pen’s party appeared on target to become the largest single party in the European Parliament. Projections based on early ballot counts on Sunday evening suggested National Rally had gained roughly 31% of the vote, twice the support for Macron’s Renew Party.
After the French results, Macron announced that he was dissolving parliament to call fresh elections. His party already lacked a majority in the National Assembly. The first round of the elections will take place June 30, followed by a second on July 7, Macron said. His term as president ends in 2027.
The elections gave a boost to Marine Le Pen’s party. PHOTO: LUDOVIC MAILLARD/ZUMA PRESS
“I have decided to give you back the choice of our parliamentary future through an election,” he said.National Rally leader Jordan Bardella said Sunday’s results marked an “unprecedented rout for the powers that be,” adding that it was “day-one of the post-Macron era.”
In Germany, Scholz’s Social Democratic Party also apparently faced a drubbing. According to national exit polls, it was running third behind the far-right Alternative for Germany and the clear winner, Germany’s opposition center-right alliance.
The elections, held from Thursday through Sunday, were for the 720 members of the European Parliament. Up to 370 million voters were eligible according to EU figures, although turnout in the elections is usually modest.
While the European Parliament’s main powers are to approve or amend EU rules, laws and trade deals, the twice-decade vote offers a potent indicator of Europe’s political mood. The legislature also gets to approve the EU’s new leadership team.
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