Brussels, 26/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - The rising power of the Eurosceptics cannot be denied in the wake of the European elections. The extremists may become the third force in the European hemicycle with 140 seats, according to initial estimates. Many of these will be held by the French MEPs of the Front National (FN), the extreme right wing party which took the lead in France with 25% of the votes cast.
The tidal wave of Europhobia in France marked the elections. Marine Le Pen's party is believed to have taken as many as 22 of the 74 seats reserved for French MEPs, giving them an historic result. "The sovereign people have spoken loud and clear, they have stated that they wish to take back the reins of their own destiny", was the reaction of Marine Le Pen, on Sunday 25 May. "Our people demand a single policy, for the French, with the French", she continued.
This Europhobic thrust can also be seen in other countries, with extreme right-wing parties coming out victorious in the elections. On the other side of the Channel, UKIP took the lead, with nearly 29% of the votes cast in the United Kingdom. This is another record result, knocking the Conservatives into second place. The leader of UKIP, Nigel Farage, who already has a seat at the European Parliament, where he leads the Europe, Freedom and Democracy group (EFD), said that he wanted no more of the EU or its flag, also warning that his group would seek to block the candidate for the Presidency of the Commission. Although Eurosceptic, UKIP and the Danish People's Party have distanced themselves ideologically from the French FN.
In Austria as well, the extreme right-wing party (FPÖ) came close to the 20% mark. In Denmark, the anti-euro party came out top of the votes cast. The Danish People's Party is reported to have bagged more than 23% of the votes, which could give them three seats in the European Parliament. In the Netherlands, however, the predictions were wide of the mark: the Freedom Party (PVV, Partij Voor de Vrijheid) won just 13% of the votes, which is well down on both the forecasts and their previous election showing (17%). It will still, however, put Geert Wilders's list into second place, tied with the Christian Democrat Party (CDA), and may take three seats in the cycle. In Italy, indications are that the Five-Star Movement of the controversial Beppe Grillo will also come out of the European elections in second place, with more than 20% of the votes and 20 seats. The other radical Italian Europhobic party, Lega Nord, won around 6% of the votes and may lay claim to 5 seats. The tendency towards Euroscepticism was also confirmed in Greece, with a step forward for the neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn, which took a tenth of the votes (9.4%) and three seats at the European party. The radical left-wing party Syriza has consolidated its position, becoming the largest party in Greece, with 26.4% of the votes and seven seats.
All of the candidates for the Presidency of the EU spoke out against the rise in power of the extremists. Jean-Claude Juncker, the clear winner of the European elections, firmly ruled out any alliance with the extreme right-wing parties. The Socialist candidate, Martin Schulz, spoke out more strongly against the results, accounting for the landslide victory for the FN, "such an openly racist, xenophobic and anti-Semitic party", with the "disenchantment of the people, who have lost confidence in the EU. This does not mean that the French are extremists, they have lost confidence and hope". The Liberal Democrats will continue to be the third-largest force at the EP (74 seats), but other projections indicate around 140 seats in total for the Eurosceptics, adding the most radical groups together (36 EFD, 38 independent MEPS and 67 Others). These groupings promise to make life uncomfortable for the traditional parties which, for their part, need to make changes to their positions in view of the Europhobic tendencies. According to Mr Verhofstadt, the three main groups of the Parliament, which combine two thirds of the votes cast, will be forced to get along in order to continue down the path of integration.
Eurosceptic group. The most outspoken Eurosceptics may form a political group under France's Marine Le Pen. The meeting between the leaders of potential member parties may be held in Brussels on Wednesday 28 May. Informal forecasts predict a coalition bringing together at least seven national parties. As well as the FN (22 seats), Italy's Lega Nord (five seats), FPÖ of Austria (4 seats), the Dutch PVV (4 seats), Sweden's SD (2 seats) and Belgium's Vlaams Belang (1 seat) are expected to come on board. The Polish party Congress of the New Right (KNP, 4 seats) and the Alliance for Croatia (1 seat) are also likely to be courted and may be decisive in putting together this group. UKIP and the Danish People's Party have already distanced themselves from Marine Le Pen. (MD)