Elections to the European parliament across the 27 countries of the European Union took place between 6-9 June. The results of these elections are as below:
| Name of the grouping | Seats won | Percentage of seats |
| EPP (European People’s Party) | 188 | 25.10 |
| ECR (European Conservatives and Reformists) | 83 | 11.53 |
| Renew Europe | 75 | 10.48 |
| S&D (Alliance of Socialists and Democrats) | 136 | 18.89 |
| The Left | 39 | 5.42 |
| NI (Not attached) | 45 | 6.25 |
| ID (Identity and Democracy) | 58 | 8.50 |
| Others | 42 | 5.83 |
The overall voter turnout across the EU was 51.07%, ranging from 89.82% in Belgium to 21.35% in Croatia.
Although the EU elections are not taken generally very seriously nevertheless, owing to widespread lack of trust in the ruling parties of various EU countries, the latest elections became a referendum on the performance of their governments and an opportunity for voters to express their anger at the internal and external policies of member countries’ governments.
As is clear from the above chart, although the EPP – a centre right grouping – emerged as the largest bloc, it failed to secure an absolute majority in the 720-seat parliament. There was a marked shift away from the established parties and groupings. The Liberals in France and the Greens in Germany were delivered the hardest blows.
Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) in France won 31.5% of the vote, while Macron’s Renaissance took a mere 14.6% – less than half of Le Pen’s party’s tally. In Germany, Olaf Schulz’s SPD was pushed into third place, behind the AfD (Alternative for Germany).
In France, the voters, fed up with Macron over a range of policies ranging from his unashamed anti-working class internal policy to his support for the Israeli genocide of the Palestinian people and support for Nato’s predatory war against Russia, deserted his party for the camps of the National Rally on the right and parties on the left of centre. Macron was shocked rigid by the outcome of the European parliamentary elections, to such an extent that, in a state of utter panic, he dissolved the National Assembly and on 8 June called new elections. These elections are to be held on 30 June and 1 July. All the indications are that Macron’s party will be thoroughly trounced and that the one single biggest winner will be Le Pen’s RN. If that were to happen, as is very likely, the RN will form the France’s next government and Macron will be forced to work with a RN prime minister – probably Jordan Bardella, the rising star of the RN. Already in the 2022 election Macron’s party failed to gain anabsolute majority in the National Assembly. This time will be worse for him. The referendum that was the European parliament election produced catastrophic results for the ruling circles, especially in France and Germany – the two leading powers of the EU.
The Freedom Party in Austria won 25% of the votes and the Dutch Partyfor Freedom secured 17%, while the AfD in Germany, with 16% of the vote, came second – ahead of Scholz’s SPD.
In Belgium, prime minister Alexander De Croo resigned immediately after the defeat of his Flemish Liberals and Democrats Party, which trailed behind the Flemish nationalist Vlaams Belang Party,
If the right-wing parties were to join together, it would constitute the second largest group in the EU parliament, especially if Georgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy were to be part of it – although one can never be sure which way Meloni will jump.
These election results, gutted as they have the centre right and the centre left, are bad news for the ruling powers. Their flunkeys in the bourgeois media are already moaning that the prospects for a ‘resilient democracy’, which ‘needs a strong centre’, have been eroded by the catastrophic results of the elections to the European parliament.
Much nonsense is being spread by the political and ideological representatives of the powers that be about the dangers of the ‘far right’ and ‘far left’ coming close to the levers of government. These labels have become meaningless. While those who are against the ceaseless wars waged by Nato and against austerity at home are being vilified daily and hourly, the real warmongers and supporters of austerity, such as the Greens and Social Democrats, are much lauded for their ‘moderation’ and ‘democratic’ credentials. The truth is that it is the Greens and Social Democrats who should have the ignominy of being characterised as fascistic genociders and inveterate enemies of the working class and oppressed peoples.
Ursula von der Leyen, who secured her appointment as president of the European Commission for a second term, putting a brave face on the election results, has stated that her party would “build a bastion against extremes”. If that is so, it would be the first time that an established politician would be leading a crusade against her own party, which is the epitome of extremism in internal and external policy.
These are very exciting times to be living in. The bourgeois camp is in a state of panic and disintegration. It is time for the working class to get its act together to obstruct and defeat the bourgeois policy of repression at home and war abroad. To paraphrase a great revolutionary, there is chaos under heaven, the situation is wonderful!
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