In the European Parliament elections, centrist forces barely maintained their current positions, while far-right groups made significant gains.
On the 9th (local time), according to the first projected seat analysis released by the European Parliament, the European People's Party (EPP), a center-right group currently holding the largest party status, is expected to secure 181 seats (25.14%) out of a total of 720 seats, maintaining its position as the largest party in the European Parliament. This is almost the same level as the current 176 seats (25.0%) out of 705 seats.
The second largest party, the center-left Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), is projected to hold 135 seats (18.75%), retaining its second place. However, the center-left’s share of seats has slightly decreased compared to the previous parliament’s 19.7%. The third party, the centrist Renew Europe group, is expected to drop significantly from 102 seats to 82 seats.
On the other hand, as expected, hard-right and far-right political groups made gains in this election. The hard-right European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) are predicted to increase their seats from 69 to 71, while the far-right Identity and Democracy (ID) group, considered more extreme than ECR, is expected to rise from 49 to 62 seats. Compared to the current parliament, ECR and ID combined will have 15 more seats.
The exact number of seats may change depending on the actual vote count. Exit polls previously released also confirmed the rise of far-right parties. In France, exit polls for the European Parliament elections indicated that the National Rally (RN), led by far-right politician Marine Le Pen, is expected to receive about 32% of the vote. If this result holds, it would be the first time in European Parliament election history that a single French party has secured over 30% of the vote.
In Germany, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is projected to come in second with 16.5% of the vote, following the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) alliance. This is an increase from 11.0% in the 2019 election. The Social Democratic Party (SPD), Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s party, is expected to fall from 15.8% in 2019 to 14.0%, trailing behind the AfD.
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