In EU elections, the center holds, but the far right still wreaks havoc

Brussels: Casting ballots in 27 countries, voters largely backed centrists in European Parliament elections, but far-right parties made serious inroads in France and Germany.

Partial results made public late Sunday showed that centrist political groups were poised to lose some seats, but still maintain a clear majority of more than 400 seats in the 720-seat assembly.

Even so, the outcome seemed likely to steel the far right as a disruptive force and unsettled the bloc’s mainstream establishment.

The balloting indicates that the prevailing winds have grown chill for some of Europe’s political establishment and underscored that the momentum of the far-right forces over the past decade had yet to crest.

In France, the voting ushered in a political earthquake. Soon after the results were announced, President Emmanuel Macron announced on national television that he would dissolve the country’s National Assembly and call for new legislative elections.

“The rise of nationalists and demagogues is a danger for our nation and for Europe,” he warned.

The outcome may put Marine Le Pen, Macron’s main rival, in her strongest position yet to challenge the French mainstream in presidential elections three years from now. Macron must step aside then because of term limits.

The far-right Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, officially labeled a “suspected” extremist group by German authorities, also had a strong showing.

Projections gave the party about 16 per cent of the vote. The result placed AfD behind the mainstream conservative Christian Democratic Union, but ahead of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats, making it the country’s second-ranking party.

European Parliament groups that hold a nationalist, anti-immigrant agenda will now likely control about 130 seats, a better showing than the last election in 2019.

Right-wing parties now govern alone or as part of coalitions in seven of the European Union’s 27 countries.

The strong far-right showing was likely to reverberate even in the United States, where it can be expected to hearten kindred political forces loyal to former President Donald Trump as he seeks a return to office.