Following recent elections, the European People’s Party (EPP) is set to sustain its majority position in the European Parliament, per forecasts. The EPP, a centre-right party that counts Fine Gael as one of its members, fared favourably throughout the elections, topping the tables in multiple countries and gaining a few additional seats. Largely due to this success, it is projected to secure at least 186 seats.
In Germany, EPP’s stronghold, the Christian Democratic Union secured double the seats as any other party. Likewise, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a part of a pro-EU Civic Coalition within the EPP, had a minor win by barely finishing above the Law and Justice party, a right-wing nationalist party.
The second-largest party grouping will continue to be the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), despite the potential loss of two seats, taking them down to a total of 136 MEPs. This party will be content despite the slight loss, as the overall number of seats in the parliament has increased from 705 to 720.
However, Renew, the liberal and centrist group which has Fianna Fáil as a member, has lost over one fifth of its seats, reducing it from 102. This loss can be largely attributed to the rise of the far-right in France, which has hit Emmanuel Macron’s coalition badly, which is central to Renew.
The effective parliament governing coalition will now be composed of the EPP, S&D, and Renew, collectively set to control approximately 400 of the 720 seats, resulting in a slim but strong majority by roughly 40 votes.
On the far left side, the Greens’ grouping has lost a significant chunk of seats, dropping from 71 MEPs to about 53. The Left group saw no real change, retaining an approximate 36 seats, where Sinn Féin and Independents Luke Ming Flanagan, Clare Daly and Mick Wallace are positioned.
In the recent elections, the extreme right and far-right have seen significant advancements, marking noticeable performances in countries like France, Germany, Italy, Austria, and the Netherlands. Their percentage of representation in the right-hand side of the EPP parliament has amplified to approximately 160 seats. Yet, the ultra-conservative, populist and far-right factions are scattered across two primary clusters, with a few parties still without alignment.
[European elections: In France and Italy, nationalist parties surge while elsewhere, the far-right wave stumbles]
The hard-right faction, specifically the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), secured 73 seats, positioning it as the fourth predominant force. This right-wing coalition comprises of the Brothers of Italy party led by Giorgia Meloni, Law and Justice, and Spain’s Vox. A more radical group is the Identity and Democracy faction, which attained a victory in 58 legislative seats, nearly half of which are now under Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, the winning party in France.
Germany’s far-right party, Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), which secured 15 seats, was ejected from the ID group in the course of the election owing to a chain of disputes. Hungarian leader Viktor Orban’s hard-right Fidesz, with 10 MEPs, is also isolated currently, although this situation might alter if the extreme-right factions attempt to build new partnerships in the forthcoming weeks.