Far-right gaining ground in European elections, polls show

The European elections confirm the rightward shift of the EU and the consolidation of the extreme right. According to European Parliament estimates, extreme right forces increased their representation with a total of 133 MEPs compared to the 118 MEPs with whom they finished the legislature, without counting Alternative for Germany and Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz, which are not part of either of the two groups in which it is grouped.

The European People’s Party grew to 181 MEPs and repeated its first place. The Social Democrats remain in second place, although they have decreased slightly (135 seats compared to the 139 with which they finished the mandate). The Liberals are experiencing a huge drop of 20 representatives (they are left with 82 seats) and the Greens are also going from 71 to 53 seats.

With these figures, a complicated scenario opens up for post-election alliances, which has been one of the big issues of the electoral campaign, after the EPP candidate and current president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, agreed with far-right structures, in particular with Giorgia Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia.

According to national surveys, the far right wins in a handful of European countries, such as France or Austria. Marine Le Pen’s National Rally has 32% of the vote, doubling President Emmanuel Macron’s party, which remains on 15%.

In Germany, the AfD has placed itself in second place after the CDU, which repeats as the EPP’s main delegation with 30 representatives. Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats lost two (from 16 to 14) and the Greens fell from 25 to 16. With eight seats, the liberals gained one seat more than five years ago.

Although Geert Wilders’ PVV failed to repeat the victory it won in the national elections in November, it increased its presence in the European Parliament from one MEP to seven. The coalition of Social Democrats and Greens opposes as the first force, although it loses one seat and keeps eight.

What is causing this rise of the far right across the EU? “It varies from country to country and from voter to voter, but of course we can find some trends and a common phenomenon,” Pavel Zarka, a researcher at the European Council on International Relations (ECFR), told elDiario.es. In recent years and decades, centrist parties, whether centre-left or centre-right, have become more similar to each other on issues such as the economy.

Czerka, who collaborated on a study of the European Parliament’s right-wing A new political map: getting the European Parliament elections done right, Explains that he found “dissatisfaction” with the way the pandemic, aid to Ukraine and the green agenda were managed. “In times of Covid, by questioning politics such as mass vaccination or imprisonment, the radical right showed that they were an alternative. And this helped them build their popularity and visibility,” he explains, without forgetting that he has relied on social networks. “People are skeptical about the way green legislation is implemented in the EU, and most people are convinced that the EU has gone too far and has not paid enough attention to the cost of living,” he adds.

“Memories of war and Covid place a premium on parties on the right, which are more credible when they talk about order, sovereignty or defence, than parties on the left that talk more about social solidarity or a green agenda,” concluded Political Scientist.

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