Thirty-six MEPs sitting in The Left Group in the European Parliament were elected on Sunday 9 June, following a ballot in which almost 51% of voters in the 27 member countries of the European Union took part.
According to the most recent projections, the radical left family has lost one seat and, with 36 seats out of 720, has the lowest score of the seven political groups that currently make up the European Parliament.
“The Left has been able to maintain its position, despite a particularly complex context. In some countries, we have achieved excellent results”, the head of the list (‘Spitzenkandidat’) of the Party of the European Left (EL), Walter Baier (Austrian) (see EUROPE 13357/15), was delighted to report on Sunday evening.
The Left’s breakthrough was particularly significant in the Nordic countries, where the far right had a setback. Three Finnish, one Danish and two Swedish MEPs will sit for The Left in the European Parliament.
In Belgium, where national and regional elections were also being held, the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB) won a second seat in the European Parliament.
Most of The Left’s other seats were won in France (9), Germany (4), Greece (4), Spain (3), the Czech Republic (1), the Netherlands (1), Portugal (1) and Cyprus (1).
By contrast, no far-left party won European seats in Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg or Malta.
“The Left remains a significant force in a context of far-right ascendancy. We will redouble our efforts against this extremism and the entrenched status quo that enables it”, said the group’s co-president, Manon Aubry (French), after the vote, as the European elections in France were marked by the triumph of the radical right.
“It is essential to tackle the fertile ground that has been created for the rise of the far right. If we don’t respond to people’s anger and take it seriously, then we will lose this battle. It will be won outside this Parliament, on the ground, to win back those people who are fed up with traditional politics”, Marc Botenga (The Left, Belgian) told the press on Sunday evening.
To see the results of the European elections and the latest projections for the future hemicycle of the European Parliament: https://aeur.eu/f/cl2 (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)