EU elections: Far right makes gains in Germany, France

DW's correspondents across Europe have the main results and trends in the 2024 EU elections.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's nationalist Fidesz party won the most votes in Sunday's European Parliament elections, but preliminary results showed its worst performance in years.

Orban's Fidesz party had 43% of the vote, down sharply from 52% support in the 2019 EU elections.

Opposition newcomer Peter Magyar's center-right party called Respect and Freedom (TISZA) stood at 31% of the vote, with 55% of the vote counted.

"Although we don't know the results yet," he said, "today is a milestone. I would like to ask everyone to remember this day well. On June 9, 2024, an era has come to an end."

Magyar plans to use the elections to propel himself and his movement to challenge Orban in the next national ballot, scheduled for 2026.

Orban, however, said the results affirmed his government's policy course.

"In a war situation and in a difficult battle, we have scored important victories," Orban told supporters.

The center-right European People's Party (EPP), is to remain the largest party in the European Parliament, according to an initial forecast, with all polls closed on Sunday.

The center-right grouping of European political parties, the European People's Party (EPP), is to remain the largest party in the European Parliament, according to the latest projections released by Brussels following a 4-day EU-wide election.

The EPP could secure 189 seats in the 720-seat parliament, while the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) in second place could pick up 135 seats.

The result, if confirmed, will boost Ursula von der Leyen's chance of securing a second term as president of the European Commission, the bloc's executive arm.

"Today is a good day for the EPP," von der Leyen said. "We have won the European elections, my friends," she added.

Renew Europe, the liberal, pro-European group is projected to win 83 seats and the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) could receive 72 seats.

The right-wing populist and euroskeptic Identity and Democracy Party (ID) is on course for around 58 seats, followed by 53 for the environmentally friendly Greens.

The Left grouping is projected to win 35 seats, and non-attached parties, which includes the far-right Alternative for Germany, could pick up 45 seats.

The remaining 50 seats are forecast to go to independents and newly elected parties.

Official results show that left-wing and green parties made gains in the Nordics in Sunday's EU elections, while far-right parties saw their support diminish.

In Sweden, the Social Democrats emerged as the largest party in the European elections, with just 25% of the votes. 

The anti-immigration Sweden Democrats party hoped to secure more votes than Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's conservative Moderate Party for second place. 

Instead, the party lost ground for the first time in its history in an election. It won 13.2% of the vote, putting it behind the Moderate Party and the Green Party.

Denmark's Socialist People's Party became the largest party in the country, with 17.4% of the vote.

The ruling Social Democrats lost 5.9 percentage points and won 15.6% of the votes.

In Finland, the big surprise of the evening was the socialist Left Alliance, which had 17.3% of the vote, with all votes counted.

The result meant the party secured three out of Finland's 15 seats in the European Parliament, up from the one they got in the previous election.

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's National Coalition Party still won the most votes with 24.8%, giving them four seats.

The far-right Finns Party, part of Orpo's coalition government, saw its support fall drastically.

They won only 7.6% of votes, down 6.2 percentage points, leaving them with only one seat instead of two.

The far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) narrowly won first place in the EU parliamentary election, according to preliminary results.

The FPÖ received 25.5% of the vote, ahead of the conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), which got 24.7%, and the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ), which garnered 23.3% support.

Polls had shown the far-right party with a 3.5% lead ahead of the ÖVP.

This is the first time the FPÖ has come first in an Austria-wide election.

The party used the slogan "Stop the EU madness" during its campaign and was critical towards the EU's military aid for Ukraine amid Russia's invasion.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni'sfar-right Brothers of Italy won the most votes in this weekend's EU parliamentary election, according to exit polls.

State broadcaster RAI said Brothers of Italy won 26-30% of the vote.

The center-left opposition Democratic Party (PD) came second with 21-25% of the vote and the 5-Star Movement won 10-14%, according to the same exit poll.

The conservative Forza Italia party was projected to win 8.5-10% and the far-right League could win 8-10%.

Meloni governs in coalition with Forza Italia and the League.

Turnout was expected to be around 50%, a record low in Italy.

Spain's center-right People's Party (PP) won the most seats in Sunday's European election, securing 22 out of the 61 seats allocated to the country.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's Socialists, spearheaded by Energy Minister Teresa Ribera, earned 20 seats.

"If (PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo) considered these elections to be a referendum on the prime minister, it's clear he himself lost. We're only two seats behind," Ribera said.

Far-right Vox finished third with six lawmakers, up from the four it had in the previous legislature.

A spokesperson for the European Parliament stated on Sunday that the voter turnout in the European Parliament elections was 51%, according to initial estimates.

However, this number might still change as not all EU member states were included.

The 2019 European Parliament elections had a voter turnout of 50.66%.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Civic Coalition (KO) was set to win European elections in Poland on Sunday, an exit poll showed.

With war raging in Ukraine and a migrant crisis on the Belarus border, Tusk framed the vote in Poland as a choice between a safe future in a country at the heart of the European Union or a more perilous one if the nationalist Law and Justice(PiS) party, known for its conflicts with Brussels, won.

"We have shown that our choices, our efforts, have a much broader dimension than just our national issues, we have shown that we are a beacon of hope for Europe," he told supporters after the exit poll results were announced.

According to the IPSOS exit poll, KO won 38.2% of votes, ahead of PiS who had 33.9%. KO's partners in the pro-European coalition government which took power in December, the centre-right Third Way and the Left, got 8.2% and 6.6% respectively. The far-right confederation party scored 11.9%.

If confirmed, the result would mark the end of a decade-long run of first-place election finishes for PiS.

PiS says Tusk, a former European Council president, is subservient to Poland's larger neighbour Germany and accuses him of hypocrisy for criticising tough PiS policies towards migrants on the Belarus border while in opposition before implementing similar measures in government.

Final results are likely to be announced on Monday.

The center-right European People's Party (EPP) will build a bastion against radical forces on the right and left, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

Preliminary results from the four-day EU elections showed the EPP was set to remain the biggest party in the European Parliament, with a projected 181 seats. 

"No majority can be formed without the EPP and together ... we will build a bastion against the extremes from the left and from the right," she said.

Von der Leyen is seeking a second five-year term as president of the European Commission, the powerful EU executive arm.

Preliminary election results also showed that far-right, nationalist parties had made the biggest gains in the polls.

In Finland, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's conservative National Coalition Party is projected to win 24.4% of the vote, while the Left Alliance is expected to finish second on 17.4%, according to preliminary results.

The Left Alliance increased its share of the vote by 10.5 percentage points compared to the 2019 EU elections — the biggest increase of any party. 

The Social Democrats were in third place and the Center Party was fourth. The right-wing populist Finns Party was on track to finish in sixth place behind the Greens. 

Finland is electing 15 lawmakers to the next European Parliament, compared to 13 in 2019.

French President Emmanuel Macron has dissolved the National Assembly and called for new parliamentary elections after his centrist camp heavily lost to the far-right National Rally (RN) in the country's EU election. 

In an address to the nation, Macron said the outcome was "not a good result for parties who defend Europe" and that he "can't pretend nothing happened." He added that the rise of nationalists was a danger for France and Europe.

The first round of elections for the lower house National Assembly will take place on June 30, with the second round on July 7, Macron said.

Marine Le Pen's far-right RN is projected to be the winner of the country's vote for the European Parliament election. According to initial results, RN was on track to win 32.4% of the vote, compared to Macron's centrist Renaissance on 15.2%.

The center-right grouping of European political parties, the European People's Party (EPP), is to remain the largest party in the European Parliament, according to projections released by Brussels following a 4-day EU-wide election.

The EPP could secure 181 seats in the 720-seat parliament, while the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) in second place could pick up 135 seats.

The result, if confirmed, will boost Ursula von der Leyen's chance of securing a second term as president of the European Commission, the bloc's executive arm.

Renew Europe, the liberal, pro-European group is projected to win 82 seats and the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) could receive 71 seats.

The right-wing populist and euroskeptic Identity and Democracy Party (ID) is on course for around 62 seats, followed by 53 for the environmentally friendly Greens.

The Left grouping is projected to win 34 seats, and non-attached parties, which includes the far-right Alternative for Germany, could pick up 51 seats.

The remaining 51 seats are forecast to go to independents and newly elected parties.

Jordan Bardella, the 28-year-old leader of France's far-right National Rally (RN) party, urged President Emmanuel Macron to dissolve parliament and call legislative elections after Macron's alliance suffered a heavy defeat in the European Parliament elections.

"The president cannot remain deaf to the message given by the French," Bardella said.

"We request that he takes note of this new political situation and goes back to the French people and organizes new legislative elections."

The far-right leader said his party was ready to lead France toward a change of government.

RN was on course to win around 33% of the vote, compared to some 15% for Macron's alliance, according to an exit poll after voting ended Sunday evening.

The lead candidate for Germany's liberal Free Democrats (FDP) in the European Parliament elections,Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, says she's pleased with her party's performance.

"The fact that it is now a stable 5% is good news," Strack-Zimmermann said at the party's headquarters in Berlin.

The projected results are a confirmation of her party's demands for a change in economic policy, stronger security policy and changes to migration policy, Strack-Zimmermann said. 

She emphasized that the party, which is a junior coalition partner in Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left government, had roughly maintained its result from the last European elections in 2019. 

In that vote five years ago, the FDP gained 5.4% of the vote, compared to 11.5% in the federal elections in 2021.