Far-right parties, including the Alternative for Germany (AfD), see significant success in the European elections.
According to a summary provided by ARD and ZDF, the Union parties and the AfD in Germany experienced notable increases, while the traffic light coalition suffered a setback. The CDU and CSU secured first place with a possible 29.6-30.0% share of the votes, slightly higher than in the 2019 European elections.
The AfD, per the calculations, secured over 16% of the votes, marking a substantial increase compared to the previous European elections. However, they remained below the values they had achieved in some polls a few months ago. Tino Chrupalla, the Co-Chairman of the AfD, spoke of a "super result" despite recent scandals surrounding AfD candidates Maximilian Krah and Petr Bystron. Both are being investigated for allegations of Russian influence. In the European Parliament, AfD representatives were also expelled from the right-wing extremist Identity and Democracy (ID) faction in May due to Krah's dismissive comments about the SS.
The ID faction still includes the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ), which, according to post-election surveys, was the strongest force with 27% representation. In contrast, the ruling Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) of conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer experienced a significant loss, dropping below 23% of the votes. Security and war, as well as immigration, were the most significant concerns for Austrians, according to an ORF survey.
In the Netherlands, former EU Commissioner Frans Timmermans defeated the right-wing populist Wilders more decisively than anticipated, so the GreenLeft/PvdA coalition of Green and Leftists won 21.6% of the votes, while Wilders' Party for Freedom (PVV) earned 17.7%. The Netherlands was the first EU country to vote in the European Parliament contest on Thursday.
In France, there was a higher-than-average voter turnout. According to forecasts, the right-wing populist party Rassemblement National (RN) of Marine Le Pen was set to win over 30% of the votes, while the Renaissance Party of President Emmanuel Macron could secure only 15%.
The European election was taking place amidst the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as concerns about climate change, social security, and migration.
Over 360 million Europeans were called upon to vote, and the results would determine 720 members of the European Parliament. With a potential right-wing shift indicated in the surveys, the final outcomes for the entire EU would not be announced until the evening, once the last polling stations in Italy closed.
The European election also carries implications for the distribution of top positions in Brussels. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) aims for a second five-year term as a lead candidate for the CDU and CSU within the European People's Party (EPP). The EPP was expected to maintain its status as the faction with the most deputies in the European Parliament, with 180 seats (compared to its previous 176), while the European Social Democrats (S&D) was projected to have 136 deputies (down from 139) and the Liberals 81 (from 102).
The far-right European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) faction, featuring Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's party, was anticipated to gain an additional 79 seats (up from 69), while the smaller ID faction led by France's right-wing populist Marine Le Pen and the FPO was predicted to have 68 MPs (up from 49).
%2C%20see%20significant%20success%20in%20the%20European%20elections.){kind=link}