Politics Archives

In today’s edition of the Capitals, find out more about Polish 'Don Orleone' and other ‘bad boys’ joining the new EU house, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni remaining a kingmaker as support from the right could be crucial for the EPP, and so much more.

Katarina Barley, the lead candidate for Germany's social democrats in the European elections, denied on Monday having immediate ambitions to take on the role of European Parliament president in the second half of its mandate following her party’s disastrous result in Germany. 

The far-right National Rally was forecast on Monday (10 June) to win a snap election in France but fall short of an absolute majority in the first opinion poll published after President Emmanuel Macron's shock decision to dissolve parliament.

The United Nations' refugees chief denounced Monday (10 June) the politicisation of migration in European elections, warning that demonising refugees would only make the issue more difficult to deal with.

Between an oil tycoon embroiled in a visa-selling scandal, an anti-Semitic firefighter and former ministers convicted of abuse of power, the conservative PiS (ECR) party, which came a close second to Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Civic Coalition, is set to bring some controversial faces to the new EU Parliament.

Bulgaria's early parliamentary elections have seen the entry into parliament of a new far-right pro-Russian party, Velichie, which promises to be a factor in the EU's poorest country and irritates other pro-Russian parties.

There will be no alliance with radical forces in the European Parliament, said Czech Prime Minister and leader of the Civic Democrats (ODS/ECR) Petr Fiala, adding that his conservative EU group should seek cooperation with the centre-right European People's Party (EPP), which maintained its dominance in the European Parliament. 

France’s influence within the liberal Renew Europe group is crumbling following a poor showing in the European elections and Macron's decision to call elections. Is it time for ALDE to seize leadership?

The Sweden Democrats (ECR) came fourth in the European elections, despite being the second-largest party in the national parliament, marking the party's first loss of ground in an election since entering parliament.

Following the crushing defeat of Germany's governing coalition parties in the EU elections, high-profile opposition figures are urging German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to call snap elections, as French President Emmanuel Macron did after his party was decimated by Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National.

Although Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's support may no longer be needed after the EU elections, with a clear pro-European majority likely to back Ursula von der Leyen (EPP) for a second term as European Commission president, experts say Meloni could still play a crucial role for the EPP in defining its positions.

While the European People’s Party came first in the European elections, its candidate and current Commission President Ursula von der Leyen still cannot count on the support of the German coalition government, with the Liberals, in particular, setting high demands in return for their approval.

French President Emmanuel Macron is leaning towards endorsing Ursula von der Leyen for another term as president of the European Commission after her centre-right camp scored strongly in European Parliament elections, two sources told Reuters.

On Sunday night, Emmanuel Macron called for snap elections. Can the president's sudden move halt the far right's rising success?

Following the French parliament's surprise dissolution announced by President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday [9 June], political manoeuvering has already started to form coalitions that could win the upcoming legislative election.

Spain’s deputy prime minister and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, announced this Monday that she was leaving the leadership of the left-wing Sumar platform, a junior partner of the Socialist Party (PSOE/S&D) in the executive, after the very poor result in Sunday’s European elections, although she continues in her position as minister.

French President Emmanuel Macron's surprise announcement on Sunday evening (June 9) that he was dissolving the National Assembly and calling early parliamentary elections has put a halt to debates on the long-awaited end-of-life bill.   

Very popular in social networks close to the Spanish far-right, Luis “Alvise” Pérez achieved on Sunday’s European elections what polls had predicted and his “ultra” formation Se acabó la fiesta (The party is over) made history entering the European Parliament with three MPs, deploying a disruptive speech that has captivated 800.000 voters outraged by politics.

The announcement by President Emmanuel Macron that he is dissolving the National Assembly and calling snap elections caught me (and the rest of the world, probably) by surprise just two minutes before I went live on TV on Sunday night.

The results of the European Parliament elections suggest a shift towards the center-right, but it is too early to determine if there will be a second term for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Monday (10 June) morning.

The newly-formed AfD EU delegation has decided not to include controversial leader Maximilian Krah, implicated in several scandals, in a bid to rejoin the far-right ID group that expelled it last month.

In today's special edition of the Capitals, please find out more about how the European elections went down in all the member states.

The results of the EU elections have had a bigger impact on many EU countries than the European Parliament itself. 

Romania is sending far-right politicians to the European Parliament for the first time, but AUR's lower-than-expected score has mainstream parties in the country breathing a sigh of relief.