Yahoo – AFP,
Dave CLARK, May 27, 2019
 |
21 countries voted on the final day of the European parliament elections (AFP Photo/
EMMANUEL DUNAND) |
Brussels
(AFP) - Europe's mainstream political parties took a hit in elections on Sunday
but held off a strong surge by the populist right of Marine Le Pen, Matteo
Salvini and Nigel Farage.
In one of
the world's biggest democratic votes, the main centre-right and centre-left
groups lost their combined majority in the European Parliament in the face of a
challenge by eurosceptic and nationalist forces.
The symbolic
clash of the campaign saw French far-right leader Le Pen's National Rally on
course to come in just ahead of President Emmanuel Macron's centrist movement,
damaging his drive for deeper European integration.
In Britain,
Farage's one-issue Brexit Party appeared to have trounced the main parties and
he will send a large contingent of British eurosceptics to a parliament they
want to leave in a few months.
And in
Italy, Salvini's far-right League achieved a similar result, strengthening its
role at the core of a vocal populist faction in the EU's legislature.
 |
European Parliament elections: projected number of seats per political group,
as of May 27 at 0130 GMT (AFP Photo/Paz PIZARRO) |
The advance
of the right was less pronounced in Germany -- where a strong showing by the
Greens was reflected in a "green wave" in many countries -- but the
anti-immigrant AfD broke the 10-percent barrier.
"We
are facing a shrinking centre," said German conservative Manfred Weber,
lead candidate for the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) to replace
Jean-Claude Juncker as European Commission chief.
'Big win'
Turnout
EU-wide was estimated at 51 percent, the highest in 20 years, suggesting more
than 200 million citizens across the 28-nation bloc voted in a poll billed as a
battle between populists and pro-European forces.
Across
Europe, according to updated projections prepared by the parliament, the EPP is
on course to have the most seats in the assembly with 179, down sharply from
216 in 2014.
With the
centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D) projected to win 150, down from
185, the two mainstream parties will no longer have a majority and will have to
reach out to liberals to maintain a "cordon sanitaire" and exclude
the far-right from decision making.
 |
Brexit Party chief Nigel Farage has rejected any tie-up with France's Le Pen
(AFP Photo/Ben STANSALL) |
The
Liberals (ALDE), who include Macron's party, are on course for 107 seats
against 69 previously while the Greens are forecast to take 70 seats, up from
52.
The various
populist, eurosceptic and right-wing parties won more than 150 seats, but form
no coherent coalition.
The Europe
of Nations and Freedom -- composed mainly of the French National Rally and
Salvini's League -- saw their share rise from 37 to 58 seats.
Salvini
tweeted a photo of himself with a sign saying "top party in Italy"
while standing in front of a bookshelf featuring a Make America Great Again
baseball cap and a picture of Vladimir Putin.
The Europe
for Freedom and Direct Democracy -- which includes Britain's Brexit Party --
went from 42 seats to 56.
"It
looks like it's going to be a big win for the Brexit Party," Farage said,
after an election held against a backdrop of disarray including the resignation
of Prime Minister Theresa May and the postponement of Britain's EU exit.
 |
| Extreme-right parties in western Europe (AFP Photo/) |
'Save the
EU'
Each
previous EU election since the first in 1979 has seen turnout fall, but turnout
figures from across the 28-nation bloc were up, suggesting this year's culture
clash has mobilised both populists and those who oppose them.
In Belgium,
the far-right Flemish separatist Vlaams Belang was on course to triple its
previous score.
And in
Finland, the far-fight Finns Party increased its vote share and retained its
two EU seats. The Sweden Democrats were on course to increase their share from
9.67 to 16.9 percent.
Dutch
anti-Islam leader Geert Wilders was however set to lose all his Freedom Party's
seats, although there was a strong showing by upstart populist Thierry Baudet.
In his home
country of Poland, European Council chief Donald Tusk expressed confidence that
voters would not succumb to "radical political movements" but
admitted that the priority was to "save the EU as a project".
 |
Turnout
EU-wide was estimated at 51 percent, the highest in 20 years, in a poll
billed
as a battle between populists and pro-European forces (AFP Photo/JOHN THYS)
|
In France,
Macron had taken it upon himself to act as a figurehead for the centrist and
liberal parties, and Le Pen took up the 41-year-old's challenge.
"It is
up to the president of the republic to draw conclusions, he who put his
presidential credit on the line in this vote in making it a referendum on his
policies and even his personality," Le Pen said.
An aide to
Macron however said the result was "respectable", with exit polls
showing his centrist alliance on 22.5-23.0 percent, just behind Le Pen's
24-24.2 percent.
Another
nationalist party, the Fidesz of Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, was on
course for a massive 56 percent victory, according to a poll conducted Sunday.
 |
French
President Emmanuel Macron, seen with his wife Brigitte, will try to form a
broad centrist coalition within the EU parliament (AFP Photo/Philippe HUGUEN)
|
The
mainstream parties are vying between themselves for influence over the choice
of a new generation of top EU officials, including Tusk and Juncker's
replacements.
EU leaders
have been invited to a summit on Tuesday to decide how to choose the nominee.
The EPP is insisting on Weber for the Commission, but Macron and some others
want a higher-profile candidate.
