Map shows spread of the infection of the far right across Europe

How the balance of power in Europe is expected to look after thr EU elections (Picture: Metro.co.uk)

French President Emmanuel Macron has dissolved parliament and called a snap election after his party suffered a crushing defeat to the far-right in the EU elections earlier this week.

Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party won 32% of the vote in the European Parliament- more than twice as much as Macron’s centrist, pro-EU Renaissance party who gathered just 15% of the vote.

The vote follows a surge in far-right parties across Europe in the wake of the EU elections, which has also seen Germany’s AfD leapfrog the ruling Social Democrat party into second place.

Belgium’s liberal prime minister, Alexander De Croo, has also announced his resignation after his party took home just 7% of the vote, whereas Italy, Hungary and Denmark have also seen a surge in far-right parties.

Addressing the nation from the Elysee presidential palace on Sunday, Macron said he could not ‘pretend nothing had happened’ and admitted the EU election was ‘no good’ for his government.

The President said the ‘rise of nationalists’ is a danger to both France and Europe, and had ‘decided to give you back the choice of our parliamentary future through the vote.

‘I am therefore dissolving the National Assembly’.

He continued: ‘I have heard your message, your concerns, and I will not leave them unanswered.

‘France needs a clear majority in order to act with serenity and harmony.’

With the outcome of the European elections set to alter the face of continental politics for the foreseeable future, here’s a round-up of the key results and what they mean so far:

Austria

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer (R) said he heard the ‘message’ from voters after far-right surge (Picture: Getty)

Initial exit polls show Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) is on track to take the majority of the alpine nations’ 20 seats on the European Parliament.

A forecast carried out by the country’s national broadcaster shows FPÖ taking first place in the election with 27% of the vote, just ahead of the ruling Conservative People’s Party which had a vote share of 24.7%.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said he hears the ‘message’ from voters and would seek to address their concerns by cracking down on ‘illegal migration’ later this year.

Meanwhile, FPO leader Herbert Kick praised the result as ‘a new era in politics in Austria and Europe.’ The FPO is expected to perform strongly in upcoming elections later this year, although it is unknown whether they will garner enough seats to form a coalition.

Belgium

Belgium’s liberal ruling party suffered an almost complete wipeout on Sunday, suffering a triple defeat at the European, national, and regional level.

The country’s EU seats were split between two far-right Flemish parties, Vlaams Belang and N-VA (New Flemish Alliance), which along with liberal party Mouvement Reformateur all gained around 13% of the vote.

Vlaams Belang narrowly topped the European poll but fell short of their expectations, although N-VA’s surge at a national level prompted outgoing prime minister Alexander De Croo to resign.

‘Our obituaries were written, but we won these elections,’ said N-VA leader Bart De Wever, who is now the frontrunner to become Belgium’s next prime minister.

France

Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella (R) surged to victory in France, prompting Macron to call a snap general election (Picture: Shutterstock)

One of the most shocking results of the night has been France’s huge surge in support for the far-right National Rally, who hoovered up 32% of the vote and prompted Emmanuel Macron to call a snap election.

‘I cannot act as if nothing had happened,’ Macron said as he announced the surprise election after his party took home just 15% of the vote.

‘I have decided to give you the choice.’

He added: ‘This is an essential time for clarification. I have heard your message, your concerns, and I will not leave them unanswered … France needs a clear majority to act in serenity and harmony.’

National Rally is France’s main opposition party with 88 MPs in the country’s parliament, despite facing longstanding accusations of racism and antisemitism.

Party leader Marine Le Pen, widely tipped to be the party’s candidate in the upcoming election, welcomed the decision and said: ‘We are ready to take power if the French people have confidence in us in these forthcoming legislative elections.

‘We are ready to put the country back on its feet’, she added.

Germany

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition is looking increasingly fragile after slumping even further in the polls (Pictuire: Getty)

German Chancellor Olaf Schulz’s unpopular coalition government suffered their worst result in a national vote in more than a century on Sunday, slumping to third place following a sound defeat to party’s across the right of the political spectrum.

The centre-right Christian Democrats were the clear winners on the night, scooping around 30% of the vote according to national broadcasters, while the extreme-right Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) leapfrogged the Social Democrats to finish in second place, taking home 16% of the vote- an increase of five points since 2019.

Meanwhile, the Social Democrats gained less than 14% of the vote, less than the 15.8% they garnered in the 2019 EU elections which was also considered a disastrous result.

Hungary

Viktor Orban’s hard right Fidesz party continued to maintain a grip on Hungarian politics, although its performance slumped to its lowest level in years.

Despite expecting to gain around 43% of the vote, Fidesz instead took home 10% less than their predictions, although the party still came out on top with a majority of the vote.

Coming in a close second was the centre-right Tisza party with 30% of the vote- more than all other opposition parties combined.

Speaking to supporters following the result, Orban said the results showed Hungarian democracy was alive and well, declaring victory at Sunday’s elections.

‘In a war situation and in a difficult battle, we have scored important victories,’ Orban told supporters, adding that the results affirmed his government’s policy course.

Orban has roiled EU and NATO allies by maintaining close business ties with Russia even after its invasion of neighbouring Ukraine and by refusing to send weapons to Kyiv.

Italy

Italy’s far-right prime minister Giorgia Meloni emerged as one of the EU’s top kingmakers following the vote, as exit polls predicted her Brothers of Italy party to double the amount of seats it has in the European parliament after winning 28% of the vote.

The result is more than four times higher than the party’s vote share in the 2019 EU elections, and even higher than the 26% it secured in the 2022 general election, which saw the hard-right party rise to power.

Italy will hold 76 of the 720 seats in the new European parliament, meaning it could play a major role in shaping the balance of power in the bloc- including the future of its current president, Ursula von der Leyen.

The Italian prime minister channelled Winston Churchill as she hailed her party’s success on social media, posting a photo of herself making the V for victory sign with her fingers.

‘Thank you! Brothers of Italy has maintained its place as the top Italian party, surpassing the results of the general election (in 2022),’ she tweeted.

Spain

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialist Party finished in second behind the conservative People’s Party (Picture: AFP)

Spain’s conservative People’s Party hailed the dawn of a ‘new political cycle’ after their party narrowly overtook the ruling Socialist party to finish first in the polls.

The PP gained 22 seats after winning 34.2% of the vote last night, while far-right party Vox came in third place with 9.6% and six seats, up two from 2019.

Newly formed far-right party Se Acabó la Fiesta (The Party’s Over) also made a strong debut on the European stage, winning three seats after campaigning on a platform to take on ‘the deep state’ and gaining 4.59% of the vote.

Spanish president Pedro Sanchez congratulated the PP following the result but said Sunday’s results showed that his party was ‘the only governing option capable of confronting the far-right wave that is sweeping Europe and Spain’.

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