Marine Le Pen ‘ready to take power’ as Macron calls for snap elections after far-right gains in Europe

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Massive gains by Marine Le Pen’s National Rally in Sunday’s European elections have prompted French President Emmanuel Macron to call early national elections.

Marine Le Pen said last night that her National Rally party, which won 30 seats in the European Parliament, an increase of 12, was “ready to take power”.

“The French have sent a very clear message. They no longer want a European construction that is technocratic and disconnected from reality, which leads to a loss of influence, identity and freedom.”

If the National Rally obtained a parliamentary majority, Macron would remain president, but he would have little weight in internal affairs.

Although centrist, liberal and socialist parties retain a majority in the 720-seat parliament, the election results have led to major domestic setbacks for the leaders of France and Germany, raising concerns about the ability of large powers of the European Union to guide policy within the country. block.

In order to reaffirm his authority, Macron has scheduled legislative elections, the first round of which is set for June 30.

Likewise, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had a difficult evening, with his Social Democrats experiencing their worst result on record, suffering losses to mainstream conservatives and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), despite the political scandals surrounding the latter.

Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni saw her position strengthened as her arch-conservative Brotherhood of Italy party won the most votes, according to exit polls.

This shift to the right in the European Parliament could potentially complicate the adoption of new laws needed to address security challenges, the impacts of climate change and industrial competition from China and the United States.

The extent of the influence of Eurosceptic nationalist parties depends on their ability to unify despite existing differences.

These parties are currently divided between two different political families, with some legislators not yet aligned with any group. The center-right European People’s Party (EPP) is expected to become the largest political family in the new legislature, winning five seats for a total of 189 MPs, based on centralized exit polls.

In Poland, the centrist Civic Coalition of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a member of the EPP, was on course to win the European vote.

Similarly, in Spain, the center-right Popular Party, also a member of the EPP, beat socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

These results are favorable to EPP MP Ursula von der Leyen, who is seeking a second five-year term as head of the EU executive.

Von der Leyen stressed the importance of the EPP in forming a majority and positioning itself against political extremes.

“No majority can be formed without the EPP and together we will build a stronghold against the extremes of left and right. » » she told her supporters during the EPP election night in Brussels.

The center-left Socialists and Democrats are expected to become the second largest political family, despite losing four MPs to be left with 135 seats, according to exit polls.

Political analysts attribute this rightward shift to rising costs of living, migration concerns, spending associated with the green transition and the war in Ukraine – issues that nationalist and populist parties have effectively capitalized on.

Bas Eickhout, the Greens’ main candidate, highlighted the gap between EU actions and public opinion as a factor in the success of the far right. “Many people have the feeling that Europe does not do things with people, but simply does things with people. » he told Reuters, emphasizing the need for credible responses to these concerns to avoid further shifts to the right.

Eurosceptic nationalist groups like the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and Identity and Democracy (ID), as well as unaffiliated far-right lawmakers, collectively won 146 seats, a gain of 19 seats.

Exit polls indicated that the pro-EU center-right, center-left, liberal and Green parties would hold a reduced majority of 460 seats, down from 488 in the outgoing 705-member parliament.

European Green parties, in particular, suffered significant losses, falling from 71 to 53 MEPs.

The European Parliament, alongside the intergovernmental European Council, plays a crucial role in crafting legislation for the bloc of 27 nations and 450 million people.

The ECR gained three MPs for a total of 72, while the far-right ID group gained nine more seats, bringing their total to 58. The number of unaffiliated MPs increased by 33 to 95, which could influence future alignments within parliament.

In Austria, the far-right Freedom Party won, albeit by a smaller margin than expected, according to national broadcaster ORF. In the Netherlands, the Labor/Green Left party edged ahead of Geert Wilders’ anti-immigration party, with exit polls showing eight seats to Wilders’ six.

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