MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

European Parliament elections show continent switching rightwards

Milei celebrated Sunday's results because they meant a stop to all those who push the 2030 Agenda

European Union citizens switched to the right en masse at Sunday's parliamentary polls dealing a severe blow to progressive administrations such as the ones in Belgium and France, resulting in the resignation of Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and President Emmanuel Macron dissolving the National Assembly and calling snap elections, respectively.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is to remain in office after the European People's Party (EPP) secured more than 180 seats out of 720 in Strasbourg. “We will build a stronghold against the extremes, left and right,” said von der Leyen. ”Today is a good day for the EPP, we have won the European elections (...) Voters have recognized our leadership in the last five years,“ the Christian Democrat leader added.

In Buenos Aires, Argentine President Javier Milei celebrated Sunday's outcome: ”Great news arrives from the Old Continent. The new right has swept the European elections and has put a stop to all those who push Agenda 2030, an inhumane agenda designed by bureaucrats, for the benefit of bureaucrats,“ he wrote on X.

”A few months ago we stood in front of the Davos Forum, the main exponent of the 2030 Agenda, and we told them that if we continued on this path, the West was heading towards extinction. The people of Europe have spoken and have revalidated our vision with their vote, despite the cries of local and international progressives, journalists, and politicians who questioned Argentina's new positioning to disguise its globalist intentions. Review those who vehemently attacked our speech and you will find there the representatives in Argentina of that disastrous agenda that today has suffered an enormous defeat,“ he added.

”The West must recover the flags that made it the most prosperous civilizational process in our history: the defense of life, liberty, and property of individuals,“ he also pointed out before closing his entry with his traditional war cry: ”LONG LIVE FREEDOM, DAMMIT...!!!”

Behind the EPP's 139 seats came the Alliance of European Socialists and Democrats (S&D) with 135, followed by the Conservatives and Reformists' (ECR) 71, and the far-right Identity and Democracy (ID), with 62, and the Greens/European Free Alliance with 53. The smallest bloc of MEPs would continue to be The Left, with 34 seats, three less than in the previous period.

In France, Macron dissolved the National Assembly and called for snap elections to overcome the crisis sparked by Sunday's results which saw far-right Marine LePen's National Rally (RN) to around 31.5% of the vote, followed by Macron's Renaissance with 15.2%, and Socialist Party with 14 % of support.

“In a few moments I will sign the decree calling the legislative elections for June 30, for the first round, and July 7, for the second round,” announced Macron, who also admitted he could not “act as if nothing had happened.” Sunday's was “not a good result for the parties that defend Europe,” he also reckoned as the extreme right is “making progress throughout the continent.”

“These historic elections show that when the people vote, the people win,” LePen argued while underscoring her movement's new role “as the main force for change in France.” She then pledged “to put an end to mass migration, to prioritize purchasing power, to make France live again.”

“I call on the French to come and join us to form a majority around the RN in the service of the only cause which guides our steps: France,” Le Pen further stressed.

Under Article 12 of the French Constitution, new elections must be held within 20 to 40 days following the announcement of the dissolution. However, the President must wait at least one year after the legislative elections following the last dissolution. As previous experiences show, this mechanism cuts both ways.

Far-right movements were also strong in the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, and Italy, where Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy (FDI), were said to be garnering between 26 and 30% of the vote, according to exit polls, followed by the Democratic Party (PD, center-left), with 21% and 25%, and the Five Star Movement (M5S), between 10% and 14%.