The Local Europe’s Post

My latest op-ed: Britain is ruled by unpopular politicians with unpopular policies in unstable administrations that get nothing done that matters. Why? Britain needs primary elections, referendums at every local and general election, and proportional representation in local government at least https://lnkd.in/gyzyggDE

Frederic Eger: Far-right parties made significant gains in the European Union elections, with France's Rally National winning over other established parties, leading President Emmanuel Macron to call for legislative elections. - by Frederic Eger/EU Parliament - The Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union, now in opposition, led with 30.3 percent of the vote, while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) jumped to over 15% from 11% in previous elections in 2019. The Greens, which came in second place in 2019 with 20.5 percent, were relegated to fourth place with 12%. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni gained strength as her national conservative Brothers of Italy party won almost 29%, ahead of her rivals from the center-left PD. The Austrian Freedom Party came in first place with 25.7 percent, ahead of the conservative People's Party and the Social Democrats. In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders' far-right Party for Freedom was second to a left-green alliance, receiving 17.7% of the vote. In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party performed below expectations, coming in first place with 44.3 percent, a worse result than the 50 percent predicted by the polls. Performances in other countries solidified the mainstream, pro-European parties' control, despite the shake-up in France. The center-right European People's Party (EPP), which leads in Spain and Poland, won the largest number of seats, boosting its chances that its candidate, Ursula von der Leyen, will secure a second term as president of the European Commission. The Socialists won the largest share of the vote in Malta, Romania, and Sweden, helping the center-left maintain its position as the second largest group in parliament, albeit much weaker than in the 1990s.

Pan-European party Volt won five-time as many seats in this past weekend’s European Parliament elections than it did in 2019 – three from Germany, including co-founder Damian Boeselager’s, and two from the Netherlands. “Last time [before the 2019 elections] we were rather the underdogs. We first had to explain to everyone what we were. That has now become less," Boeselager tells The Parliament.   Since its inception, Volt has advocated for the establishment of a federal Europe, and in the most recent election campaign called for a climate-neutral economy by 2040. It also considers itself the “first truly pan-European party”.   But despite its gains in this year’s elections, Volt is “still miles away from becoming a relevant political player,” Vít Havelka, a senior research fellow at the Prague-based think tank Europeum says. “They must become a political actor at the national level first, and only then, they will be relevant at the EU level.”  https://bit.ly/3xfGxFe

Victorious Lithuanian Social Democrats could struggle to form a majority coalition #bne #bneEditorsPicks #Lithuania #Baltics #elections The Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) has emerged victorious in the country's general elections, but with the governing Homeland Union close on its heels. Final results will not be confirmed until after the runoffs on October 27, two weeks from now, LRT.lt, the website of Lithuania’s national broadcaster LRT, reported on October 14. In the national constituency, 70 seats are allocated based on the party list vote using a proportional representation system. To qualify for these seats, a party must secure at least 5% of the vote, while coalitions need at least 7%. Six parties surpassed the threshold and will share the 70 seats: Social Democrats with 18, Homeland Union with 17, Dawn of the River Neman with 14, the Democrat Union For Lithuania with 8, the Liberal Movement with 7, and the Farmers and Greens Union with 6.

Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPO), led by Herbert Kickl, achieved a historic victory in the parliamentary elections, winning 29% of the vote. However, despite the triumph, Kickl faces challenges in forming a governing coalition as other parties have rejected the idea of working with the FPO. President Alexander Van der Bellen has urged all parties to hold talks, though the process could be lengthy. If Kickl fails to secure a coalition, a partnership between the conservative OVP and center-left Social Democrats may emerge as an alternative. Read full news at https://lnkd.in/d6yYJdHh #AustriaElection #FPO #HerbertKickl #FarRight #EuropePolitics #Euroscepticism #RussiaRelations #CoalitionGovernment #OVP #SocialDemocrats #ImmigrationPolicy #InflationCrisis #ViktorOrban #Orbanisation #EuropeanUnion #AustriaFirst #PoliticalAnalysis #AustriaDemocracy #ElectionResults

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France held national elections within about three weeks of Macron’s call, and now in a fractured National Assembly, quickly pulled together a coalition to elect a centrist speaker, freezing out the far left and the far right (even if Macron may eventually make a coalition with some of the left). Compare the U.S. year long+ election campaigns and all the money spent, and compare the Republicans’ inability to elect a Speaker of the House for months at a time, because they wouldn’t take any Democratic votes for a consensus candidate. We should be more like France. #democracy #elections

In five years, bear right. In elections across Europe this week, voters from the EU’s 27 member states moved the European Parliament rightward—though not as far as many expected they would. The center-right European People’s Party is still the Parliament’s largest bloc, gaining four seats from the last election in 2019. The populist-right European Conservatives & Reformists gained 11 seats, but the EPP won’t have to work with them to form a governing majority. Instead, they look almost certain to rely on their current coalition partners, the centrist Renew Europe and the center-left Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats, each of which lost about 20 seats. Still, the populist right showed its power in Germany and France: Germany’s neo-fascist Alternative für Deutschland finished second nationally, and France’s National Rally nearly doubled the tally of Renaissance, the ruling party of President Emanuel Macron—who responded to the lopsided defeat by calling for new parliamentary elections. For more than a decade, parties of the populist right have been gaining power in Europe—and are now either taking control or poised to win elections throughout the continent. As we’ve explored here at The Signal: Italy’s populist-right Fratelli d’Italia, founded by former members of the Fascist Party, won elections in September 2022; the Dutch populist Geert Wilders won his country’s elections last November, though he has yet to form a governing coalition; and in 2023, Germany’s AfD became the second most popular political party in the country, despite its increasingly hostile rhetoric. In power, though, the populist right has also now experienced defeat, after Poland’s Law & Justice Party—which came to power 10 years ago—was ousted from control last October by a coalition of opposition parties. There’s still no evidence that this generally surprising result might represent any counter-trend in Europe—but here, as in India, democracy can always defy predictions and storylines. #currentaffairsstrangeworld #europe #politics #democracy https://lnkd.in/e5qEmjVM

🇫🇷 France has elected a new National Assembly after President Macron dissolved it on June 9th, following the European elections. In those elections, Marine Le Pen's National Rally (far-right) led with 31.3% of the vote, while Macron’s Renaissance party (centrist) got 14.6%. Check out our analysis of the EU elections in France here (https://lnkd.in/ePmtme3N) Here’s what happened on July 7:  🗳️ Contrary to the polls, the Nouveau Front Populaire (Socialists, Greens, La France Insoumise, and Communists) won big with 180 seats.  📉 President Macron’s party, Ensemble, came in second with 163 seats, losing 82 MPs compared to 2022.  📊 Despite leading in votes (8,744,080), the National Rally ended up third with 143 seats (up from 89 in 2022). Why such a shift?   The election saw many constituencies with three or four candidates making it past the first round. This led to a “Republican Front” in the second round, uniting against the far-right. For the first time since 1958, the Assembly is split into three almost equal blocs. No party can govern alone, so coalitions are a must. 🤔 What’s next?  The Left Alliance is expected to propose a Prime Minister and government by the end of the week. However, they’ll need 289 votes to survive a confidence vote, which is unlikely without more support. Macron’s party could try to ally with moderate left-wing parties (Greens, Socialist Party), though there are significant policy differences. Another possibility is for Ensemble (163 seats) to team up with les Républicains (right-wing, 66 seats) to form a minority government. There’s also a chance that some MPs from Macron’s party could join the Left Alliance to form a minority government. If you want to learn more about how this affects EU politics, and the policy direction of Europe, reach out to our experts. Special thanks to our French experts, Héloïse Martin and Clélia Jouve.  🌟