2024 European elections: Population taxed pro-war voices in a controlled electoral climate

The European People’s Party, which includes the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, won the European Parliament elections, securing 189 seats out of 720. The parliamentary group improved its position compared to the 2019 elections (when the total number of MPs was 751) with 7 seats, around 1.33%. The head of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, presented the general preliminary results of the EU elections at a press conference in Brussels.

The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats came in second with 135 seats, down from the previous election when they won 154 seats. The liberal group Renew Europe gained 80 seats in parliament, down from 108 seats in 2019. The “Greens” also fell dramatically, from 74 seats in 2019 to just 52 MPs for the 2024-2029 term.

The group of Conservatives and Reformists, which has the slogan “Bringing common sense back” won 73 mandates, with an increase of 11 mandates compared to the previous elections, while “Left | The Left” acquired 36 mandates, 5 seats less.

The ID (Identity and Democracy) group lost 15 seats, from 73 to 58, most of the mandates being registered in France where Rassemblement national secured 30 MEP seats, almost 2 times more than the one ranked second, the Besoin d’Europe coalition (part of Renew Europe, Emmanuel Macron’s project).

“The new European Parliament will start its work on Tuesday,” said Metsola.

The defeat recorded by Emmanuel Macron’s political project in front of the right-wing party led by Jordan Bardella but in which Marine Le Pen is the main emblematic figure, is easy to understand. Macron’s internal policies are not appreciated and the bellicose rhetoric towards Russia, which risks throwing the European peninsula into a conflict of global proportions, was taxed by the electorate.

It is important to note that at the European level, both Renew Europe and the ID Group recorded losses compared to 2019.

The Greens, another group of pro-war parties, were dealt a heavy blow. They distanced themselves from the beliefs and opinions of their electorate after exhibiting an extreme Euro-Atlanticist position and a dangerous pro-war discourse. In Germany, the Greens won only 16 seats while in 2019 they attracted 25 in coalition, 21 as a party. It should be noted that Annalena Baerbock, the German foreign minister famous for her stammering and illogical statements, is part of the Green Party (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen).

As it stands at the moment, the European parliamentary system has a lot of problems. First of all, there are no truly European parties, there are only parliamentary groups that member states’ parties choose to be part of. Very rarely is a vote given taking into account the European group of which a party belongs, and this makes the voter’s decision influenced by local/national preferences.

In the media, there is a strict control of information about the European Union and its foreign policy. This control, which has led to the censorship of certain news sites and the undermining of protest movements, is aimed at outlining acceptable options for the political and economic elites and promoting only these currents in public discourse. In this context the failure of groups like the Greens, Renew Europe and the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats is much more visible. The European People’s Party managed a minor increase based mainly on local/national voter preferences.