The colour of the new European Parliament: The centre of power in Europe remained the central parties;

Social democrats and socialists began to lose; 

The far-right has become more robust, and Europe has slid into authoritarianism and populism. A period has begun in which the influence of nationalist and far-right parties will increase.

The Greens were on the losing side.

The EU, the most effective peace and democracy structure of the 20th century, has lost its coordinates…

The first results came from the Netherlands: The left coalition of the Labor Party and the Greens emerged from the ballot box;

In the Netherlands, which came first in the polls, Geert Wilders’ far-right party came in second after the Left-Green alliance;

Netherlands’ left-wing leaders emphasised that these narrowly won results were a promising start.

But what was expected did not happen…

The unstoppable rise of the far right was reflected in the European Parliament.  

For example, the rise of the far right in the France-Germany duo, the engine of unity, was reflected in the European Parliament with an overwhelming majority.

In France, far-right Le Pen’s Rassemblement National emerged as the first party in the elections.

President Emanuel Macron’s Renaissance party fell second, receiving less than half of the RNs.

Macron dissolved the parliament and decided to hold early general elections after the far right came first in his country by a wide margin in the AP elections.

The President said the results were “not good for the parties that defend Europe” and

He announced that early elections will be held between 30 June and 7 July…

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s situation is not good either:

In Germany, Christian Democrats emerged as the first party in the ballot box. Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) became the party that followed by increasing its votes.

AfD won this vote share despite many scandals before the election and being expelled from its group in the EP.

The party’s leading candidate, Maximilian Krah, was forced to resign weeks before the election, saying “not everyone” in Nazi Germany’s paramilitary force, the SS, was wrong;

The governing coalition suffered a crushing defeat in the European Parliament elections.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats were humiliated with their lowest vote share in more than a century:

Scholz’s social democrats, the SPD, fell below 2019, when they received the fewest votes, falling to 14.6 per cent;

The Greens, which was the second party in Germany that sent the most deputies to the EP with 20.5 per cent in 2019, this time fell to fourth place with 12.8 per cent;

European Parliament election defeat has fueled questions about whether Scholz’s government will survive…

In Italy, Premier Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party came first in Italy with 28.9% of the vote.

The opposition centre-left Democratic Party (PD) came second with 24.5%.

The other main opposition party, the 5-Star Movement (M5S), is in third with 10.5%.

Within the ruling centre-right alliance, the projections put Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani’s Forza Italia (FI)

and Noi Moderati at 9.2%, ahead of Transport Minister Matteo Salvini’s League at 8.5%.

The Green-Left Alliance (AVS) had 6.8%, well above the 4% threshold needed to elect MEPs.

The Green-Left Alliance (AVS) had 6.8%, well above the 4% threshold needed to elect MEPs.

In Austria, the far-right Freedom Party became the first party with 25.7 per cent of the votes. The conservative People’s Party followed with 24.7 per cent and the Social Democrats with 23.2 per cent.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s party also fell short of expectations.

When we look at the list above, for example, we see that Macron is a liberal-conservative. Scholz is a social democrat. But they both lost.

Why? Because the reflection of global strategies on individuals and countries also affected the European Parliament.

Wars, migration and excessive migration in strategic regions of the world affected the quality of life of the European people.

As such, the liberal values ​​targeted with the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall remained in the background.

The struggle between right and left began between nationalism and cosmopolitanism. 

And there was also a change of axis in the European Parliament. 

Although there are minor differences among them, European far-rightists want a “Europe of nations” that bypasses Brussels.

These parties, especially “immigration”, oppose Brussels’ transnational policies such as climate change.

They advocate that national leaders should have sole authority on strategic matters.

Le Pen’s National Unity, Italy’s Salvini’s Lega, Belgium’s Vlaams Belang, and Austria’s Freedom Party are members of the European Parliament’s anti-immigrant and anti-Islam Identity and Democracy ID group. Portugal’s Chega and Germany’s AfD, freshly expelled from the group for defending the “SS,” led those advocating a “Europe of nations.”

There is also the “Europe of nations” group.

They are also members of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR/European Conservatives and Reformists), which is on the far right wing of the AP.

This cluster includes Meloni’s Brothers of Italy/Fratelli d’Italia party, Spain’s Franco-nostalgic Vox, and Poland’s far-right populist Law and Justice Party.

How much do the results affect parliamentary colour? 

Although the extreme and radical right will increase their votes and the number of seats in the EP, pro-European centrist parties will still be the power centre of the AP.

However, even if the parliamentary majority comprises mainstream centrist parties, the balance in Europe will change.

It will not be a surprise if the mainstream parties that have not lost power are on the extreme right – as in immigration policies.

Conclusion:

The EU, the most effective peace and democratic structure of the 20th century, could not withstand the effects of global strategies in the first quarter of the new century.

The far-right has become more robust. The left, the liberals, have weakened.

Europe changed course.

Although the center parties maintain their position today, it seems inevitable that they will support extreme network discourse and policies in order not to lose their supporters.

A troubled period awaits Europe in the coming decades.