Summary of the day
The latest provisional results for the European parliament elections put the centre-right European People’s party at 186 seats, the Socialists and Democrats at 135, Renew Europe at 79, the European Conservatives and Reformists group at 73, the far-right Identity and Democracy at 58, the Greens at 53 and the Left at 36.
A spokesperson for Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany will not follow France and hold a snap election despite the ruling coalition’s dismal performance in the EU election.
France’s foreign minister, Stéphane Séjourné, said “yesterday’s result is a lightning bolt in political life, we must take that into account.”
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president and lead candidate for the centre-right European People’s party, argued that the extreme right and left did not do as well as expected. “We had a strong win, as European People’s party – so this shows that you can withstand the pressure from the extremes and be successful,” von der Leyen said.
The European Conservatives and Reformists party congratulated its member parties and said “conservative values will impact EU policymaking like never before in the European Union’s history.”
Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister and the EU’s most Kremlin-friendly leader, has said that “Europe’s political landscape has shifted to the right and towards peace.”
Giorgia Meloni is in good spirits but so is Italy’s opposition leader Elly Schlein, who managed to salvage Italy’s centre-left Democratic party (PD) from the doldrums in the European elections and narrow the gap with the prime minister’s Brothers of Italy. “Meloni, we’re coming,” Schlein said in a press conference.
Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, seized on the European election results as a means of continuing his attacks on Spain’s socialist-led government, which has infuriated the Netanyahu administration by criticising the war in Gaza and recognising a Palestinian state.
Yolanda Díaz, Spain’s labour minister and one of the country’s three deputy prime ministers, announced that she is stepping down as leader of the leftwing Sumar alliance following its disappointing results on Sunday.
Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president, took a jab at the French president and German chancellor. “Well, well, respected by no one Macron and Scholz, have you seen the EU parliament elections results?” he wrote on social media.
Argentina’s far-right, self-styled “anarcho-capitalist” president, Javier Milei, offered his upper-case congratulations to the European far right.
Europe 'shifted to the right and towards peace,' Russia-friendly Hungarian leader says
Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister and the EU’s most Kremlin-friendly leader, has said that “Europe’s political landscape has shifted to the right and towards peace.”
“We will build on these results in the coming months to achieve our goals, as Hungary takes over the Presidency of the EU,” he added.
While Orbán’s ruling party got the most votes in Hungary, its performance – at 44.79% – was much lower than the previous couple of European elections. A new opposition movement, Tisza, has done well, winning nearly 30% of the vote.
The message of yesterday’s Hungarian and #EuropeanElections is clear:
— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) June 10, 2024
1. The Hungarian democracy is strong and vibrant. We recorded the highest voter turnout ever in a European election in Hungary, 59.3%.
2. Hungarians came out in record numbers to vote for #peace. Never before…
Updated
