Last day of voting for the renewal of the European Parliament for approximately 360 million citizens of the European Union. An electoral marathon, analysts observe, which will very likely lead to a redefinition of the EU institutions and, ultimately, of the European balance. Greece began voting today to choose its MEPs, while in the main member countries, including ‘Italy, the polls opened yesterday, for the first day of voting. Today, at 7:00, the Greek countries opened their polls, followed by most of the other EU countries, including France and Germany, where the second and final day of voting began. At stake in these elections is the allocation of 720 seats in the European Parliament. The first to kick off the electoral ‘marathon’ on Thursday were the Netherlands where, moreover, the polls would have delivered results in line with the forecasts which indicated a surge in support for Geert Wilders’ far-right party. The predictions of the day before – according to polls conducted in various European countries – point to a consolidation of the far right which should decisively change the face of the European Parliament.
Also the result of an electoral campaign which in the 27 member countries was marked by heated discussions on the war in Ukraine, by suspicions of Russian disinformation as well as by the ongoing conflict in Gaza and by economic issues. Observers suggest that the radical and Eurosceptic right could make the formation of a majority in the chamber and the complex ‘game’ of alliances more difficult.
This evening, starting from 11pm, the spotlight will turn on the ‘heavyweight’ countries such as France, which has 81 seats and Germany, 96 seats in the European Parliament while Italy will elect 76 MEPs. In France, polls predict a ‘historic victory’ for the Rassemblement National (RN) led by Jordan Bardella who is a clear winner compared to President Emmanuel Macron’s party list. The German conservatives also have a strong advantage, whose support, according to the latest polls, could exceed 30%. A result that would mark a heavy setback for socialist chancellor Olaf Scholz.
In Germany, the socialists and the greens are fighting for second place with the AfD (Alternative fur Deutschland), a far-right national-conservative party that is capitalizing on consensus in the wake of migratory pressures and the recent difficulties of the EU’s largest economy . The party, whose leader was involved in a series of scandals before the consultations, was expelled from the Group of European Conservatives (ECR) of which it was part.
