Europe's traditional political center finds itself squeezed from both sides as the jockeying for position begins in the aftermath of the 28-nation European Parliament elections
Candidate to the presidency of the European Commission, Denmark's Margrethe Vestager, speaks at the European Parliament in Brussels, Monday, May 27, 2019. From Germany and France to Cyprus and Estonia, voters from 21 nations went to the polls Sunday in the final day of a crucial European Parliament election that could see major gains by the far-right, nationalist and populist movements that are on the rise across much of the continent.
“The rules are changing in Europe,” Salvini, Italy’s hard-line interior minister, said at his League party headquarters in Milan early Monday. “A new Europe is born.” Riding what they called Europe’s “green wave” backed by Europe-wide rallies urging climate action, environmentalist parties made strong gains, notably in Germany, one of the continent’s main forces for EU integration.
“We are facing a shrinking center of the European Union parliament,” a subdued EPP lead candidate Manfred Weber said, after just over 50 percent of the EU’s more than 400 million voters had turned out over four days in the world’s biggest transnational elections. “From now on, those who want to have a strong European Union have to join forces.”
Spanish caretaker Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was a notable exception, as his victorious Socialists looked set to win 20 of the country’s 54 seats in the European Parliament. While real power in Europe remains in the hands of the 28 member states, the assembly’s influence has grown. It’s helped improve air flight safety in Europe, cut down on plastics use, end mobile telephone roaming charges inside the bloc, boost data privacy, and cut carbon dioxide emissions from cars.
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