Emmanuel Macron called for early legislative elections and announced the dissolution of the National Assembly as soon as the first exit polls were known, anticipating a comfortable victory for the far-right in the European elections, in which the party of the far-right Marine Le Pen would double the votes of the far-right. French leader.
While the centrist, liberal and green parties will hold the balance of power in the 720-seat parliament, the European Parliament election results dealt an internal blow to the leaders of France and Germany, raising questions about how the major powers of the European Union can drive policies. in the block.
Making a risky bet in a bid to reestablish his authority, Macron called parliamentary elections, the first round of which will be held on June 30.
Like Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also endured a painful night in which his Social Democrats achieved the worst result in their history, suffering at the hands of traditional conservatives and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
A shift to the right within the European Parliament may make it more difficult to pass new legislation that might be needed to respond to security challenges, the impact of climate change or industrial competition from China and the United States.
However, the exact influence that Eurosceptic nationalist parties will wield will depend on their ability to overcome their differences and work together. They are currently divided into two different families, and some parties and legislators are currently outside these groups.
Turn to the right
The Eurosceptic nationalists would grow the most in the elections to the European Parliament held this Sunday, while the Greens and the liberals would lose ground, according to exit polls carried out by the international agency Reuters. This change may complicate EU policymaking and attempts to deepen the bloc’s integration over the next five years.
Far-right parties in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and elsewhere did well in a vote that will see the balance of power shift to the right in the 720-seat parliament, which helps shape and pass legislation. of the entire block.
The impact of the EU vote was immediately seen in France, where President Emmanuel Macron unexpectedly called early parliamentary elections after his party suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of the far-right National Rally party.
The Eurosceptic nationalist groups European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and Identity and Democracy (ID) and the far-right candidates of Germany’s AfD – not yet affiliated with an EU political family – together won 149 seats, a increase of 22, according to a first centralized exit poll.
The exit poll predicted that the pro-European parties of the center-right, center-left, liberals and greens would maintain a majority of 451 seats, but significantly reduced compared to the 488 of the outgoing chamber. The European Greens, in particular, have suffered heavy losses, shrinking to 53 deputies compared to 71 in the previous Parliament.
A shift to the right within Parliament may make it more difficult to pass new legislation that would lead to greater sharing of EU resources or the cooperation that might be needed to respond to security challenges, the impact of climate change or the industrial competition from China and the United States.
The weight of Eurosceptic nationalist parties will depend on their ability to overcome their differences and work together.
