Central Asia: Far-right victory in EU elections leads to defeat for Macron and Scholz,

Central Asia (California) – Far-right parties have shaken the European Union’s traditional power and made significant gains in Sunday’s parliamentary election, which handed French President Emmanuel Macron a crushing defeat. Associated Press.

The 27-member European Union shifted significantly to the right that night, with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni more than doubling her number of seats in the European Parliament. Even as the far-right Alternative for Germany party was beset by a candidate scandal, it still won enough seats to overtake Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats.

Feeling threatened by the far right, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s Christian Democrats moved further to the right on immigration and climate ahead of the election and have been rewarded, remaining the largest party in the 720-seat parliament and the de facto mediator of the European Parliament and the legislature’s expanding powers.

Yet the undoubted star of this stunning election night was Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party, which dominated French opinion polls to the point where Macron immediately dissolved the National Assembly and called new elections. This is a huge political risk, as his party could suffer major losses that would slow down the remainder of his presidency, which ends in 2027.

Le Pen embraced the challenge. “We are ready to turn this country around, ready to defend the interests of the French, ready to put an end to mass immigration,” she said, echoing the rallying cry of many far-right leaders in other countries who have celebrated major victories.

Her National Rally won more than 30% of the vote, about double that of Macron’s pro-European centrist Ennahda party, which was expected to get less than 15%.

Macron conceded defeat. “I have heard your messages, your concerns and I will not ignore them,” he said, adding that calling an early election would only highlight his democratic credentials.

In Germany, the most populous of the 27 member states, forecasts show the far-right Alternative for Germany party overcoming a series of scandals involving its leading candidates will rise to 16.5% support among the ruling coalition in Germany from 11% in 2019, with the coalition barely above 30%.

Scholz suffered such an ignominious fate that his long-ruling Social Democratic Party fell behind the far-right Alternative for Germany, which finished second. “After all the predictions of doom, after the shelling of the last few weeks, we are the second strongest force,” said AfD leader Alice Weidel jubilantly.

The four-day EU27 elections marked the world’s second-largest display of democracy after India’s recent polls.

Across the European Union, the two main pro-European groups – the Christian Democrats and the Socialists – remain the dominant forces. The far-right’s victory came at the expense of the Greens, who are expected to lose about 20 seats, returning to sixth place in the legislature. Macron’s pro-business Renaissance group also suffered heavy losses.

To prevent that, von der Leyen proposed a coalition with the Social Democrats and pro-business liberals. With the Christian Democrats winning a seat and losing two others, von der Leyen can do that from a strong position.

“We are by far the strongest party, we are a pillar of stability,” von der Leyen said, reflecting on the rise of the far right and the good performance of the far left, adding that “this result brings greater stability to the centrist parties. We are all interested in stability, we all want a strong and effective Europe.”

In the legislature, preliminary results showed the Christian Democrats would win 189 seats, up 13, the Social Democrats 135, down four, and pro-business group Renew 83, down 19. The Greens fell to 53, down 18.

Germany, traditionally a stronghold of environmentalists, has become the poster child for the Greens’ humiliation, with their share expected to have fallen from 20% to 12%. With France and other countries expected to suffer further losses, the Greens’ defeat is likely to have an impact on the EU’s overall climate change policy, which remains the most progressive in the world.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s center-right Christian Democratic Union, which had already eroded its green credentials before the election, led in Germany with nearly 30 percent of the vote, easily defeating Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats, whose support had fallen to 14 percent, even behind the Alternative for Germany.

A selective shift to the right could make it harder to pass EU legislation and paralyze decision-making in the world’s largest trading bloc at times.

EU lawmakers serve five-year terms and have a say on issues including financial rules, climate and agricultural policy. They approve the EU budget, which funds priorities such as infrastructure projects, agricultural subsidies and aid to Ukraine. They have a veto over appointments to the powerful European Commission.

The election comes as voters test their faith in the bloc of about 450 million people, which has been rocked over the past five years by the coronavirus pandemic, recession and an energy crisis sparked by Europe’s biggest land conflict since World War II. But political campaigns have often focused on issues that concern individual countries rather than broader European interests.

After 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 Sweden, Finland and soon the Netherlands. Polls show populists in the ascendancy in 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 right is always good. Go right!”