There has been much concern over the rise of far-right parties in Europe in recent years. Autocratic regimes have come to power in Poland, Hungary, and Romania. Right-wing campaigns across Europe have stoked fears that Europe may be returning to fascism. Some fear that the EU itself may be at risk as nationalistic parties in various countries call for their own version of BREXIT. However, EU Parliamentary elections held this past May seem to indicate that the juggernaut may not as strong as feared.
EU parliamentary elections are held every five years. Adult voters across the 400-million-person union elect representatives to a parliament that seats 751 MEPs (members). Seats are apportioned based on each nation’s population. Voters elect representatives to fill their country’s allocation.
Prior to the May 2019 elections, many Europeans feared that far-right parties would sweep into power. However, while far-right parties did win more seats, increasing their representation in parliament from 20% to 25%, the increase was less than expected. And while centrist parties that had ruled parliament for forty years lost seats, it lost them to both the right and the left, and will still hold the majority (389 compared to 209 for the far-right and 69 for the far-left). Also, the EU does not appear to be under the threat of dissolution–over 460 seats are held in pro-EU hands while less than 250 are controlled by Euroskeptics.
Despite their less than anticipated increase, the far-right still presents a force to be dealt with in Europe and in parliament. More importantly, however, it seems that the election validated the aspirations of the established EU—most Europeans still see value and promise in regionalism.
References:
Vox, “The ‘Green Wave’ and 4 other takeaways from the European parliamentary elections,” 28 May 2019, accessed from https://www.vox.com.
Politico, “Poll of Polls: European Parliament Elections 2019,” accessed on 24 Oct 2019 from https://www.politico.eu.
Wikipedia, “Elections to the European Parliament,” accessed 26 Oct 2019.