Elections in 2024 boosted right-wing parties’ power in France, Germany, Greece, Portugal, Croatia and Bulgaria – plus the EU’s own parliament. CGTN’s William Denselow asks the experts why that might have happened.
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00:00Back in June, more than 400 million people across the European Union's 27 member states went to the polls.
00:08The big winner was the European People's Party, securing 188 of the Parliament's 720 seats.
00:15The centre-right EPP remained kingmakers, and Ursula von der Leyen secured another term as Commission President.
00:22Our freedom and sovereignty depend more than ever on our economic strength.
00:29Our security depends on our ability to compete, to innovate and to produce.
00:36And our social model depends on a growing economy while facing demographic change.
00:45But far-right groups strengthened their hand, winning roughly 20% of the vote, as they managed to tap into many of the electorate's concerns.
00:53The top issues they had in mind, according to polls, were security, for good reasons, and cost of living.
00:59They still cared a lot about climate, but this featured more as a force of fifth priority for them across Europe.
01:07The fallout from June's election will have a bearing here in Brussels for the next five years.
01:12But it's having an impact on domestic politics too.
01:16Over in France, the right-wing National Rally won roughly 30% of the vote in European elections.
01:23President Emmanuel Macron said the results couldn't be ignored, and triggered a snap election.
01:30The results of those elections have divided Parliament, with Michel Barnier lasting just three months as Prime Minister.
01:37Francois Bayrou is now France's fourth PM this year.
01:41The right-wing parties saw gains across Europe this year, including in Portugal, Greece, Bulgaria and Croatia.
01:48And in Germany, a far-right group won a state election for the first time since the Second World War.
01:54Some experts say 2024 has seen a rebuke of incumbent leaders, not just in Europe, but around the world.
02:01This might be because simply the consequences of COVID, the consequences of the war in Ukraine,
02:10were too dramatic for people's pockets or for their feeling of economic security.
02:17Over half a dozen EU member states now have far-right groups within their governments.
02:22The bloc may be politically divided, but faced with war on its doorstep and a sluggish economy,
02:29there's hope that there's enough political appetite to find some common ground.
02:34William Denslow, CGTN, Brussels.