European elections: patriots make inroads across Europe
Every Monday morning, you can listen the director of the Identity and Democracy Foundation on Ligne Droite, Radio Courtoisie’s morning show, followed by his column on our website. This week, we focus on the the European elections and the breakthrough of the patriots.
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European election results
Last Sunday’s European elections were marked by a clear rise for the right and a fall for the left and center. The large center-right grouping, the European People’s Party, in which Les Républicains has a seat, made progress, as did the two patriotic groups, Identity and Democracy, in which Rassemblement National has a seat, and the European Conservatives and Reformists grouping, with which Reconquête is affiliated. On the other side of the political spectrum, the liberals of the Renew group and the ecologists collapsed. The socialists and radical left remain relatively stable. Overall, the European Parliament is tilting to the right.
This patriotic breakthrough can be seen throughout Europe. In France, the Rassemblement National won a major victory (31.4%) to become Europe’s leading party in terms of seats (30). Austria’s FPO, Italy’s Fratelli d’Italia, Hungary’s Fidesz and Flanders’ Vlaans Belangalso won in their respective countries. And in the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, patriots are emerging as the leading opposition force. Patriotic parties are entering the European Parliament for the first time in Portugal and Ireland. In all, between 200 and 250 of the 720 seats will go to patriotic parties, which should represent between a quarter and a third of the new Parliament. These elections are therefore a triumph for patriots and conservatives, not only in France, but throughout Europe.
What does this mean for the European Parliament?
Identity and Democracy and ECR, the two patriotic and conservative groups in the European Parliament, are gaining ground. New patriotic parties are entering the European Parliament and should choose between these two groups in the coming weeks. During the last legislature, ID and ECR gradually learned to work together, and the EPP sometimes had to negotiate with them to block certain texts proposed by the left and center. This cooperation should therefore continue and be strengthened in the coming years, whether within a joint group of the two European parties or through more in-depth coordination between the two groups. If ID and ECR were to form a joint group, it would become the 2nd largest group in the European Parliament behind the European People’s Party group. It is also worth noting the emergence of left-wing patriotic and anti-immigration parties in these elections, such as the 5 Star Movement in Italy and the new party created by Sahra Wagenknecht in Germany. It now remains to be seen whether or not this patriotic left will succeed in creating a group in the European Parliament.
At present, the European Parliament is run by a coalition of three groups: the European People’s Party (center-right), the Party of European Socialists (center-left) and Renew (center). On the face of it, this coalition is likely to remain in power, but will be considerably weakened. Ursula Von der Leyen could be re-elected as President of the European Commission, but her position is fragile, and she is increasingly criticized within her majority. She may be forced to seek votes from the ecologists or some of the ECR conservatives. Within this coalition, the Liberals are weakened while the European People’s Party has strengthened. If the European People’s Party wants to govern and implement the policies it promised during its campaign, it will have to take account of the two patriotic groups.
