Conservatives are set to secure wins throughout Europe in the union-wide elections that ended on Sunday, according to initial projections cited by multiple reports.
All 27 members of the European Union (EU) held parliamentary elections from Thursday to Sunday. Right-wing parties and politicians are poised to take a considerable number of seats in elections, taking back some power from the majority centrist parties and highlighting a political shift toward conservative policies across Europe, according to The New York Times.
“The world around us is in turmoil. Forces from the outside and from the inside are trying to destabilise our societies, and they are trying to weaken Europe. We will never let that happen,” Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said on Sunday, according to The Guardian. “These election results show that the majority of Europeans want a strong Europe.”
Initial projections from exit polling indicate that conservative parties performed fairly well across the union and will represent a larger share of the 720-seat assembly, according to initial projections from the NYT. The centrist parties are likely to retain the majority at over 400 seats but still were left reeling from the projected losses, which were worse than in last year’s elections.
Right-wing parties shined particularly in France and Germany, according to the NYT. French President Emmanuel Macron’s party, the liberal-leaning Renaissance party, suffered a stunning defeat to the National Rally party in the elections, prompting Macron to dissolve the National Assembly and call for snap elections, per initial projections.
Marine Le Pen, head of the National Rally party, said she was “ready to turn the country around” after the victory over the weekend, per the Associated Press.
“We’re ready for it. After the legislative elections of 2022, which designated the National Rally Party as the main parliamentary opponent, these European elections confirm our movement as the major force for change in France,” she told a crowd of supporters in Paris, according to the AP.
In Germany, the right-wing party trounced German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’ left-wing Social Democrat party, which was expected to win only 14% of the vote — less than the 15.8% the party secured in 2019 and lesser still their standing in Germany’s most recent national election in 2021, according to initial projections cited by the AP. The environmentalist-focused Green Party did even worse, gaining only 12% of the vote compared to 20% five years ago.
The new momentum for conservative parties in Europe underscores voters’ primary concerns for the union, according to The Washington Post. Issues like climate change were less of a concern to voters than in previous years, while immigration and the economy remained primary concerns.
Most countries were still counting final votes as of Sunday night.
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