26 May 2014
Fringe parties advance considerably in European Parliament elections
FXStreet (Łódź) - As widely expected results of the elections to the European Parliament revealed a considerable surge of support for right-wing populist parties among the Europeans discontented with austerity. The biggest winner among the eurosceptics was France’s anti-immigration Front National led by Marie le Pen, which scooped as much as 24 seats, with a 25% support.
Nigel Farage's UK Independence Part also received strong backing of 25% and 23 seats, Italy's anti-establishment Five Star Movement won 22% of the votes, while Greece's neo-Nazi Golden Dawn entered the European Parliament for the first time with a 9% backing and 3 seats.
Generally, the European People's Party and Socialists and Democrats retained the majority in the European Parliament, with 53% “leaving them likely to form a Grand Coalition, and likely able to rely on the support of the centrist ALDE's further 9% of the vote for major EU integration votes,” as Prashant Newnaha, Asia-Pacific Macro Strategist at TD Securities points out. But the dramatic increase in support for populist and far-right parties suggests that people's disillusionment with the EU has been steadily deepening. The turnout was only slightly higher than in 2009 at 43.1%.
According to Ryan Littlestone comments on ForexLive: “Whether it’s reflective of how people would vote in their respective national elections remains to be seen but it’s certainly a wake up call for national leaders.”
“If the UK is anything to go by then it looks more like a protest vote as while UKIP cleaned in the European poll, the main parties still maintained their strength in the local elections we had last week.”
Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who spoke in the European morning, said that the results of the elections weren't surprising and that they should prompt national governments to concentrate more on spurring growth and employment.
"People are becoming impatient I think and in many countries that is understandable," he added.
Nigel Farage's UK Independence Part also received strong backing of 25% and 23 seats, Italy's anti-establishment Five Star Movement won 22% of the votes, while Greece's neo-Nazi Golden Dawn entered the European Parliament for the first time with a 9% backing and 3 seats.
Generally, the European People's Party and Socialists and Democrats retained the majority in the European Parliament, with 53% “leaving them likely to form a Grand Coalition, and likely able to rely on the support of the centrist ALDE's further 9% of the vote for major EU integration votes,” as Prashant Newnaha, Asia-Pacific Macro Strategist at TD Securities points out. But the dramatic increase in support for populist and far-right parties suggests that people's disillusionment with the EU has been steadily deepening. The turnout was only slightly higher than in 2009 at 43.1%.
According to Ryan Littlestone comments on ForexLive: “Whether it’s reflective of how people would vote in their respective national elections remains to be seen but it’s certainly a wake up call for national leaders.”
“If the UK is anything to go by then it looks more like a protest vote as while UKIP cleaned in the European poll, the main parties still maintained their strength in the local elections we had last week.”
Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who spoke in the European morning, said that the results of the elections weren't surprising and that they should prompt national governments to concentrate more on spurring growth and employment.
"People are becoming impatient I think and in many countries that is understandable," he added.