Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban gestures after the announcement of the partial results of the European Parliament and municipal elections, in Budapest, Hungary, June 10, 2024. Photo by Marton Monus/Reuters
While Fidesz has dominated Hungarian politics since 2010, many are deeply dissatisfied with how it has governed the country. A deep economic crisis and a recent series of scandals involving Fidesz politicians have rocked the party which prides itself on upholding family values and Christian conservatism.
Those factors led to the emergence of one of the most formidable challengers Orbán has ever faced, Péter Magyar, who broke ranks with Orbán’s party in February and in a matter of months built up Hungary’s strongest opposition party.
That party, Respect and Freedom (TISZA), stood at 31 percent of the vote Sunday, amounting to seven delegates to the European Parliament.
Spain’s main opposition conservatives pull ahead of governing socialists
MADRID — Spain’s leading opposition conservatives pulled ahead of the governing Socialists in the European Union’s parliamentary elections, with the far-right making significant gains amid the surprise appearance of a new extremist party led by a social media influencer.
With 99 percent of votes counted, the right-wing opposition Popular Party (PP) had 34 percent of the votes, four percentage points more than the center-left Socialists of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. That translated into 22 seats for the conservatives, nine more than in the previous European election, and 20 for the Socialists.
Spain has the fourth largest number of parliamentary seats allocated in the EU’s assembly: 61 out of 720.
The results were a significant improvement for the PP conservatives, who had likened the European vote to a referendum on Sánchez’s administration. But the biggest gains were on the far-right of the political spectrum.
Vox, the hard-right party that has become a governing ally of the conservatives in several Spanish regions and municipalities, increased its European MPs from four obtained in 2019 to six.
The Spanish far-right secured three more seats in the new parliament with the surprising appearance of Se Acabó la Fiesta (The Party is Over), a new party led by a national-populist influencer known his pen-name, Alvise Pérez. Pérez presents himself as a crusader against corruption and identity politics and is often described by Spanish media as an “agitator.”
Euroskeptic centrist opposition wins European parliament election in Czech Republic
PRAGUE — The centrist opposition ANO (YES) movement led by former populist Prime Minister Andrej Babis has won the European Parliament election in the Czech Republic.
Euroskeptic Babis defeated the center-right Together coalition that consists of three partners in the Czech governing coalition: the conservative Civic Democratic Party of Prime Minister Petr Fiala, Christian Democrats and the liberal-conservative TOP 09 party.
ANO won 26 percent of the votes, for seven seats, while Together claimed 22 percent, for six seats.
The populist group Oath in a coalition with a group of car supporters rejecting the EU’s Green Deal and other policies was third with just over 10 percent and won two seats. The far-left coalition Enough got just under 10 percent and two seats.
In results for two other government parties, STAN, a group of mayors, gained nearly 9 percent and two seats, while the Pirate Party got just over 6 percent and one seat.
The major anti-migrant force, the Freedom and Direct Democracy, a local ally of French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, received just under 6 percent and won one seat.
Dutch results confirm far-right, anti-immigration Party for Freedom is the biggest winner
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Near complete Dutch results confirmed Sunday night that Geert Wilders’ far-right, anti-immigration Party for Freedom was the biggest winner in elections for the European Union parliament.
Wilders’ party won six seats, up from one in the last European parliament, according to a near complete count of the Dutch vote, national broadcaster NOS reported. That is one seat less than projected by an exit poll after the Dutch voted Thursday.
That one seat difference did not dampen Wilders’ delight. “Still the very biggest winner with five more seats!” he wrote on social media platform X.
The pro-European alliance of the social-democratic Labour Party and Green Left won the most seats, with eight — one less than in the last parliament.
Wilders’ swept to a big victory in national elections six months ago and is in the driving seat during protracted talks with three other parties on forming a governing coalition.
Opposition party claims victory in Slovakia
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — The major opposition Progressive Slovakia has claimed victory in the European Parliament elections in Sloakia, topping the leftist Smer (Direction) party of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico.
The vote took place just weeks after Fico survived an assassination attempt.
Progressive Slovakia, a liberal and pro-Western group, won 27.8 percent of the vote, for six parliamentary seats.
Smer, which refuses to send any arms to Ukraine to face Russia’s invasion and is critical of mainstream European policies, followed with 24.8 percent, for five seats.
A far-right opposition party, the Republic, finished third with 12.5 percent and will have two seats.
Hlas (the Voice), another leftist party in the government coalition, received 7.2 percent, and the conservative opposition Christian Democrats won 7.1 percent, giving them one seat each.
The third party in Fico’s coalition, the ultranationalist Slovak National Party, failed to win a seat.
Turnout was a record 34.4 percent.
5:16 p.m. EDT
Voting officially ends as last polling stations in Italy close
ROME — The last polling stations have closed in Italy, officially ending voting across Europe in the EU’s parliamentary election.
Italian polling stations closed at 11 p.m. local time (2100GMT), officially ending a marathon election spanning over four days across 27 bloc member countries.
France’s Le Pen: We’re ready to turn the country around
Marine Le Pen, of France’s far-right National Rally party, says she is “ready to turn the country around” after dealing a heavy blow to French President Emmanuel Macron in the EU parliamentary election.
“We’re ready for it. After the legislative elections of 2022, which designated the National Rally Party as the main parliamentary opponent, these European elections confirm our movement as the major force for change in France,” she told party supporters in Paris.
Marine Le Pen, president of the French far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National – RN) party parliamentary group, addresses party members after the polls closed during the European Parliament elections, in Paris, France, June 9, 2024. Photo by Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters
“We are ready to exercise power if the French people place their trust in us in these future legislative elections. We’re ready to turn the country around, ready to defend the interests of the French, ready to put an end to mass immigration, ready to make the purchasing power of the French a priority,” she said.
Near complete results in Greece show governing center-right party in comfortable win
ATHENS, Greece — Near complete results in Greece show the governing center-right New Democracy party comfortably ahead in the EU Parliamentary election with just under 28 percent of the vote, but with a poorer showing than the 33 percent it won in the previous election which the party leadership had set as a bar for Sunday’s poll.
Results from 95 percent of polling precincts showed that the left-wing main opposition SYRIZA also lost ground, polling just below 15 percent, down from nearly 24 percent in 2019. Socialist PASOK scored just under 13 percent, up from nearly 8 percent. Hard-right populist Greek Solution, which also saw a rise in its popularity to 9.5 percent from 4 percent, is the largest of three far-right parties to send representatives to the European Parliament, alongside the ultra-religious Niki with 4 percent and Voice of Reason with 3 percent.
The Communist Party also increased its score, as did catch-all, nominally leftist Passage to Freedom.
New Democracy wins seven of Greece’s allotted seats in the 720-member assembly, one less than in 2019. SYRIZA elects four, two fewer than last time. PASOK gains a seat, as does Greek Solution, which now have three and two Euro-MPs respectively. The Communists keep their two seats, while newcomers Niki, Passage to Freedom and Voice of Reason have one each.
Far-right ELAM party clinches one of six EU parliament seats allotted to Cyprus
NICOSIA, Cyprus — The state broadcaster of Cyprus says near-complete results show the far-right ELAM party has managed to clinch one of six seats allotted to the country in the European Parliament.
It’s the first time that the far-right party, founded in 2008, has earned a seat in the European Parliament. ELAM’s strident polemics against large numbers of migrants who have reached Cyprus in recent years has increasingly resonated with voters and have given the party a steady rise in support.
With almost 85 percent of the vote counted, ELAM has garnered just over 11 percent, the state broadcaster said.
ELAM President Christos Christou said Sunday that ELAM would seek to be inducted into the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Party headed by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Christou said his party’s policy focus in the European Parliament would be the migration issue and to seek a deal remedying Cyprus’ half-century old ethnic division.
3:55 p.m. EDT
Polish Prime Minister Tusk declares victory
WARSAW, Poland — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has declared victory after an exit poll showed a decisive victory for his centrist pro-EU party.
The exit poll by Ipsos showed over 38 percent of votes going to his Civic Coalition. According to the poll, the result was a disappointing showing for Law and Justice, the national conservative party that governed Poland from 2015-23. The poll showed it with nearly 34 percent.
The far-right Confederation party was in third place in the exit poll, winning nearly 12 percent for a strong showing.
Cypriot influencer with no political experience appears set to win EU parliament seat
NICOSIA, Cyprus — A popular YouTuber and TikToker whose humorous and occasionally obnoxious posts have earned him tens of thousands of followers has stunned Cyprus’ political world by appearing to wrest one of six seats allotted to the island nation in the European Parliament from traditional political powerhouses.
With more than three quarters of votes counted, unofficial results show Fidias Panayiotou clinching almost 20 percent of votes, about 2 percentage points behind the communist-rooted AKEL party in second and 4 percentage points behind the center-right Democratic Rally Party.
Although opinion polls have consistently showed Panayiotou garnering high numbers, no one expected him to crush to this degree much of the country’s political establishment solely through his social media fame after a mere two-month campaign in which he essentially offered no political positions.
In his first remarks after polls closed and initial results showed him steadily in third place, Fidias, who goes only by his first name, said a “miracle” had been achieved, conceding that he himself didn’t believe he would pull in such numbers.
“Today is a historic day not only for Cyprus, but maybe for the world,” Fidias said. “This could be the first time that a completely independent candidate who doesn’t have even an inkling of support from a political party, has managed to get elected, with social media being his only weapon.”
He spoke of the opening of a “new chapter in the book of democracy” where citizens are more empowered and chastised representatives of political parties by suggesting voters have turned their backs on them and their self-serving ways.
Analysts said Fidias drew his votes primarily from the 18-39 age bracket, but managed to get a respectable percentage from older voters, in what appeared to be people opting to turn their noses up to the clientelist-driven political party machinery.
Fidias shot to fame in a video a few years ago when he managed to get a hug from billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk. Since then, he has posted countless videos, at least one of which landed him in hot water for hitching free rides on Japanese public transport as part of a race across the country. He later apologized for doing so.
Fidias held an impromptu party in the Cypriot capital’s main Eleftheria square to celebrate his victory.
French President Macron calls snap legislative election after defeat in EU vote
PARIS – French President Emanuel Macron says he is dissolving the National Assembly and calling a snap legislative election after his party suffered a heavy defeat in elections for the European Parliament.
French President Emmanuel Macron appears on a screen as he delivers a speech following results after the polls closed in the European Parliament elections, in Paris, France, June 9, 2024. Photo by Christian Hartmann/Reuters
In an address to the nation from the Elysee presidential palace, Macron said: “I’ve decided to give you back the choice of our parliamentary future through the vote. I am therefore dissolving the National Assembly.” The vote will take place in two rounds on June 30 and July 7, he said.
The move comes as first projected results from France on Sunday put the far-right National Rally party well ahead in the European Union’s parliamentary election, defeating Macron’s pro-European centrists, according to French opinion poll institutes.
2:50 p.m. EDT
First projection by EU suggests far-right parties made big gains
BRUSSELS — Far-right parties have made big gains at the European Parliament as the Greens took a major hit at Sunday’s European elections, according to a first projection provided by the European Union.
The estimates aggregated by the EU parliament are based on exit polls or other survey data, along with projections that may include some partial election returns.
The two mainstream and pro-European groups, the conservatives and the socialists, lost a few seats but remained the dominant forces. The Greens were expected to lose about 20 seats.
European Parliament projections are shown at the European Union building in Brussels, Belgium, June 9, 2024. Photo by Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters
First projected results from France put far-right National Rally party well ahead in EU election
PARIS, France — The first projected results from France are putting the far-right National Rally party well ahead in EU elections, according to French opinion poll institutes.
Marine Le Pen’s anti-immigration, nationalist party is estimated to get around 31 to 32 percent of the vote, more than twice the score of President Emmanuel Macron’s pro-European centrist party that is projected to reach around 15 percent.
France is electing 81 members of the European Parliament.
Croatia exit polls project governing conservatives to win the most votes
ZAGREB, Croatia — Exit polls in Croatia project the ruling conservatives to win the most votes in the EU election, followed by the main center-left opposition party. A newcomer far-right party also won a seat for the first time.
The Croatian Democratic Union of Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic won 33.7 percent of the vote, or six seats, while the Social Democratic Party won 27.8 percent, or four seats, according to the exit poll conducted by the Ipsos polling agency and broadcast by the state HRT television.
The report said that far-right Homeland Movement won 8.6 percent, or one seat. The party is part of the coalition government in Croatia after emerging as kingmaker at a recent parliamentary election. The Liberal We Can group won 5.4 percent, which is also one seat.
Low turnout in Greece, where none of 3 main parties seems to have reached their goals
ATHENS, Greece — In Greece, none of the big three parties has reached their stated goals in Sunday’s election for the European Parliament, but all may find a silver lining in them.
With more than 40 percent of the vote counted, turnout is 39 percent, nearly 20 percentage points below that of the last European election, in May 2019.
The ruling center-right New Democracy had hoped to match its 2019 result of 33 percent. So far, it is polling at 27.6 percent, still far ahead of main opposition SYRIZA with nearly 15 percent and the socialist PASOK at just over 13 percent.
SYRIZA leader Stefanos Kasselakis had hoped for at least 20 percent of vote share or, at least, to match the 17.8 percent obtained by the party in last year’s second national election. PASOK had hoped to overtake SYRIZA for second place, as opinion polls seemed to show last year. But if results hold, its margin with SYRIZA will be less than shown in recent opinion surveys.
Far-right parties increased their share of the vote, even as one of them, the Spartans, was barred from contesting the election. Greek Solution is so far getting nearly 10 percent of the vote, the ultra-religious Niki at just over 4 percent and Voice of Reason at 3 percent.
Exit polls indicate party of Bulgaria’s ex-prime minister is the likely winner
SOFIA, Bulgaria — Exit polls in Bulgaria indicate the GERB center-right party of three-time Prime Minister Boyko Borissov is the likely winner of the country’s parliamentary vote as well as the election for European Parliament.
The exit poll conducted by Gallup International showed the GERB party with 26 percent, apparently edging out the reformist coalition between the We Continue the Change party and the right-wing Democratic Bulgaria by a margin of over 10 percentage points in both votes. Borissov held the premiership three times between 2009 and 2021.
Projections show a record-low voter turnout. Initial results are expected on Monday, but it could take days before the final official results are announced.
If final results confirm indications from the exit poll, Borissov will be handed a mandate to form his fourth cabinet, though he could face an uphill task in finding allies to form a governing coalition in a fragmented parliament.
The ultra-nationalist Vazrazhdane party, a strong opposition to any actions against Putin’s Russia, is seen as widening its parliamentary presence at home to 15 percent and for the first time is also expected to send at least three representatives to the European Parliament.
1:05 p.m. EDT
Mainstream, pro-EU parties expected to hold majority despite gains by far right
BRUSSELS — First national estimates from five European Union countries provided by the European Parliament suggest mainstream and pro-European parties should retain their majority in next legislature despite gains by the far-right.
The estimates aggregated by the EU parliament were based on exit polls or other survey data. They came from Austria, Cyprus, Germany, Greece and the Netherlands.
The Socialists, Liberals, Greens and Conservatives put on a strong showing even though they are expected to lose seats to far-right parties like those led by Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán, Geert Wilders in the Netherlands and Marine Le Pen in France.
Von der Leyen congratulates her Germany party after exit polls show it did well
BRUSSELS — European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen has congratulated her German party, the Christian Democratic Union, on its result in the election after exit polls showed that it was the biggest vote-getter.
“You know that we in Europe still have to wait several hours, but what you have already set as a trend is all the better – strongest force, stable, in difficult times and by a distance,” she told supporters by video link from Brussels.
“Now we have to replicate this in Europe, but I am confident that we will succeed this evening,” she said.
Source link : https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/world/eu-election-updates-early-projections-show-big-gains-for-far-right-as-voting-nears-end
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Publish date : 2024-06-09 19:14:02
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