Good afternoon. As engrossing as our election run-up is, it’s worth taking a look at the results from an election we used to be involved in, and which still has implications for all our politics.
More than 360 million Europeans voted for 720 MEPs last weekend, and the results have destroyed the confidence of the centre ground. While the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) held relatively strong, with the largest number of seats at 185, the right and far-right combination of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR) and Identity and Democracy Party (ID) made gains. And while the left and soft left have held their ground, support for the Greens and Renew, the pro-Europeans, has cratered – they lost a third and a quarter of their seats, respectively.
