I’ve been so immersed in history and preoccupied with covering American politics lately that I have neglected to keep tabs on recent political developments in Europe. I have so much on my plate that I also failed to write anything about the recent election in Australia.

Britain

New York Times:

“The results in Britain were a striking success for a party that has existed for only a few weeks, and for Mr. Farage, the campaigner for British withdrawal from the European Union. He is one of the country’s most divisive politicians but also one of its most effective communicators. The elections also looked set to deal a crushing blow to the opposition Labour Party as it lost votes to two center-left opponents, the Liberal Democrats and Greens, which both took a clearer position against Brexit and supported a second referendum on the issue.

With many of the votes counted, the Brexit Party was ahead with 31.5 percent of the vote. The Liberal Democrats were second with 20.5 percent, followed by Labour with 14.1 percent and the Greens with 12.1 percent. The Conservatives pushed into fifth position with 9.1 percent of the votes. The Conservative Party’s dire performance will increase pressure on those campaigning to succeed Mrs. May to take a hard-line approach to Brexit that could result in the country leaving the European Union without any agreement. …”

Nigel Farage is doing well for himself after getting milkshaked:

Farage has the right attitude in dealing with Antifa. Just ignore the ankle biters. Keep on trucking pic.twitter.com/zDoGGOby5c — EMPEROR ‘KINGFISH’ WHITEPILL (@CptBlackPill) May 27, 2019

Conservatives BTFO … they came in FIFTH PLACE:

European election results: Brexit Party wins as Conservatives collapse https://t.co/XnweQatpBi — EMPEROR ‘KINGFISH’ WHITEPILL (@CptBlackPill) May 27, 2019

Sargon and UKIP imploded:

Gerard, look okay, we lost every single seat but here’s the thing – we can get Donald Trump to tweet about gamergate. Trust me Gerard. @GerardBattenMEP pic.twitter.com/ViSCoSd1aH — Mister AntiBully (@MisterAntiBully) May 27, 2019

Tommy Robinson lost his race for MP:

Final result: Tommy Robinson got just 2.2% of the vote in the north-west (just 38,900 votes). He’s lost his deposit. ? — Josh Halliday (@JoshHalliday) May 26, 2019

Theresa May broke down in tears as she resigned:

BREAKING: European Elections:

????: U.K.: Sources tell BNL that the BREXIT party is doing better than expected in rural areas and that Theresa May’s Conservative party is doing far worse than expected. ‘Labour’ and ‘Liberal Democrats’ doing what was expected.#EUelections2019 — BNL NEWS (@BreakingNLive) May 26, 2019

WATCH: U.K. PM Theresa May breaks down into tears at the end of her resignation speech:

Bye Felicia pic.twitter.com/j6TY5eWv3L — The “Dirty” Truth ™ (@AKA_RealDirty) May 24, 2019

All things considered … it was a good result in the UK.

France

Bloomberg:

“French President Emmanuel Macron suffered a narrow defeat to Marine Le Pen’s nationalist movement in Sunday’s European parliamentary elections. Macron’s Republic on The Move had 21.9% of the vote compared with 24.1% for the anti-European National Rally with 90% of ballots counted . The Greens rose to third with 13.1%, the conservative Republicans got 8% and the Socialists 6.4%. In the last EU vote in 2014 Le Pen beat the conservatives by 4 percentage points with Macron’s Socialist predecessor Francois Hollande trailing in third.

The result is a setback for 41-year-old Macron in his battle for legitimacy as he tries to persuade the rest of the European Union to pursue tighter integration. Still, the narrow defeat most likely won’t derail his domestic agenda as the government prepares for a major overhaul of the pension system. Polls in Germany showed Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats came first, although with fewer seats than last time. …”

Marine Le Pen’s National Rally is now the most popular party in France. Emmanuel Macron was humiliated again at the polls. The cope is that the National Front had an even better performance in the last EU election and its level of support hasn’t changed much, but the story in France is the collapse of the Republicans, Socialists and Macron. Conservatism has collapsed in France and the UK.

Italy

Bloomberg:

“Matteo Salvini is set to make his League party Italy’s biggest political force while falling short of the knockout blow that would allow him to seek the premiership, according to projections of votes in the European Parliament elections. The deputy premier’s rightist, anti-migrant League won 30% of the vote, a projection by state-run Rai television showed, as his ruling coalition ally and campaign rival, the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, slipped to third place at 20.2%. …”

Matteo Salvini is the boss in Italy:

Una sola parola: GRAZIE Italia! ?? pic.twitter.com/PEmaNvCpNJ — Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi) May 26, 2019

Italy: SWG and Opinio exit polls show record high of voter support for right-wing Lega (ENF/EAPN) in European elections.



1984: 0.5%

1989: 1.8%

1994: 6.6%

1999: 4.9%

2004: 5.0%

2009: 10.2%

2014: 6.2%

2019: 27-30%#EP2019 #elezionieuropee #elezionieuropee2019 — Europe Elects (@EuropeElects) May 26, 2019

Belgium

Politico:

“The far-right Vlaams Belang booked a huge win in Belgium’s triple election Sunday, offsetting losses by parties in Prime Minister Charles Michel’s outgoing government coalition.

In the northern, Dutch-speaking Flanders region, provisional results put the far-right party on track to finish second with about 20 percent of the vote — a surge of over 14 percentage points. The right-wing New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) would remain the largest party in Belgium with around 28 percent of the Flemish votes, a drop of almost 5 percentage points. “This election was about our people, and our people have to come first,” President of Vlaams Belang Tom Van Grieken told a gathering of party militants in his victory speech. …”

Huge win for Vlaams Belang in Belgium:

Looks like the “do not work with national populists” line is about to break down in Belgium https://t.co/rRTN6SyVpp — Matthew Goodwin (@GoodwinMJ) May 26, 2019

Early results in Flanders, Belgium suggests big win for far-right, Le Pen-affiliated Flemish Interest party. Seems to come from losses by right-wing N-VA, but also others in center. *Vote very much ongoing* pic.twitter.com/7dcB2cS3Tx — Laurens Cerulus (@laurenscerulus) May 26, 2019

BREAKING: European Elections:

???? Belgium: Right wing party Vlaams Belang gains 12 percentage points, biggest gains by far. Centre right NV party remains biggest party, but loses 6 percentage points — BNL NEWS (@BreakingNLive) May 26, 2019

Germany

The Local:

“Merkel’s Christian Democratic Party (CDU) and allies Christian Social Union (CSU) were set to garner around 28 percent, two separate polls by national broadcasters ARD and ZDF showed, sharply under their 35.3 percent in 2014.

Her coalition partner SPD was also headed for its poorest showing in an EU poll with around 15.5 percent, as the centre-left party was knocked from second position by the Greens, which surged to between 20.5 and 22 percent. The far-right AfD was set to improve on their 2014 score of 7.1 percent, with exit polls seeing it coming in at around 10.5 percent. …”

In Germany, the story of the day was also the decline of the mainstream parties – Merkel’s CDU and the leftwing SPD – and the rise of the Greens who took 20% of the vote. AfD made a slight gain in the polls. Conservatives lost in Britain, France, Germany and Italy.

“We are going to Brussels to repair the EU. To reduce the EU to its core work.”



Germany’s far-right AfD party co-leader Joerg Meuthen after his made major gains in the EU Parliament election pic.twitter.com/BzOaIFOpaW — TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) May 26, 2019

Croatia

Croatia News:

HDZ (centre-right, EPP) 23.04% - 4 seats SDP (centre-left, PES) 18.46% -4 seats Croatian Soverenists (right-wing) 8.35% - 1 seat Mislav Kolakuši? (independent) 7.73% - 1 seat Živi Zid (populists) 5.77% - 1 seat

This is a terrible result for the centre-left in Croatia, would be its worst ever share of the vote at an EP election by some margin.

Populist Human Shield has new record if right https://t.co/CvU4ZDKI2m — Matthew Goodwin (@GoodwinMJ) May 26, 2019

Denmark

#EP2019 — Denmark exit poll: Social Democrats largest party. Support for far-right nationalist Danish People's Party (O) collapses (they came first in 2014). The People's Movement Against the EU (N) set to lose its only seat https://t.co/1ndljxBh96 pic.twitter.com/0AbYRQHbaJ — Alberto Nardelli (@AlbertoNardelli) May 26, 2019

A rather important caveat not mentioned.



The Social Democrats just enacted the most restrictive immigration policy in Danish history if not Europe. This is not a traditional social democratic party.



The national populists collapsed because they won the argument. https://t.co/E8NFd6xVqu — Matthew Goodwin (@GoodwinMJ) May 26, 2019

If you are talking about Denmark but not mentioning the immigration policy that the LEFT Social Democrats just enacted then, well, you're doing it wrong. Here's a rundown from the LSE #ep2019 https://t.co/NhGY59x5kq — Matthew Goodwin (@GoodwinMJ) May 26, 2019

Paul Collier, the Oxford economist, is close to the Social Democrats in Denmark. They are on the rise. This is Collier’s message for all centre-left parties: “Move left on the economy and talk the language of belonging.” https://t.co/CfBQ38IhHR — Jason Cowley (@JasonCowleyNS) May 26, 2019

Netherlands

CNN:

"(CNN) Dutch Pro-European parties are predicted to triumph in the European Parliament election against populists, an exit poll on Thursday has unexpectedly revealed. Dutch Labor Party PvdA of European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans is forecast to win five out of the 26 seats allocated to the Netherlands, according to an Ipsos exit poll for public broadcaster NOS.It's a surprise victory for Timmermans, whose euroskeptic challenger Thierry Baudet -- who has been described as the "suave new face of Dutch right-wing populism" -- had been topping the polls in this year's election. ..."

Geert Wilders Zionist party collapsed:

Netherlands: With 85% of the results counted, record low of voter support for Geert Wilders’ right-wing PVV party (ENF/EAPN) in European elections. They miss the 3.85% threshold and fail to get a seat.



2006: creation of the party

2009: 17.0%

2014: 13.3%

2019: 3.5%#EP2019 — Europe Elects (@EuropeElects) May 26, 2019

Hungary

Reuters:

"BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary’s ruling right-wing Fidesz party won 52.14% of votes in the European parliamentary election on Sunday on a hardline anti-immigration platform, scoring a big victory over a divided opposition. ..."

Viktor Orban's party won an absolute majority:

Hungary's Fidesz seen winning 56% of votes; Orban sees shift in Europe https://t.co/DSTd2RYGK8 pic.twitter.com/5WcbtxPVyF — Reuters Top News (@Reuters) May 26, 2019

Huge win projected for Orbán's Fidesz in #Hungary. Will give the EPP a dilemma on whether to kick them out. #EuropeanElections2019 pic.twitter.com/ZVssUDtxP4 — Matt Hamill (@Mattph_82) May 26, 2019

Official results of #EP2019 from #Hungary:

PM #Orbán's Fidesz 52.14% - 13 MEPs

Former PM Gyurcsány's left-liberal Democratic Coalition 16.26% - 4 MEPs

Liberal @momentumhu 9.92% - 2 MEPs

Socialists 6.68% - 1 MEP

Right wing @JobbikMM 6.44% - 1 MEP

99.9% counted, turnout 43.36% pic.twitter.com/BUIdm2joTF — Konsiczky Zoltán (@KonsiczkyZ) May 26, 2019

Greece

#Greece's Prime Minister Tsipras Calls for a Snap National Election Following European Election Loss. Governing party lost EU vote by wider margin than expected. Greeks will head to national polls on June 30 or early July. pic.twitter.com/b3axhFpFBX — Holger Zschaepitz (@Schuldensuehner) May 26, 2019

Poland

Reuters:

"WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) came out narrowly ahead in Sunday’s European Parliament vote, seen as test of the party’s nationalist, eurosceptic platform before a national election later in the year. An exit poll by pollster IPSOS showed PiS heading towards its best result ever in a general or European Union election with 42.4% of votes. It won 31.8% in the EU ballot five years ago and 37.6% in the 2015 parliamentary election. ..."

Nationalists are consolidating power in Hungary, Poland and Italy:

Austria

Reuters:

"VIENNA (Reuters) - Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz strengthened his hand in his fight to save his job as his conservative party came far ahead of rivals in Sunday’s European election, but the main opposition party said it would seek to depose him on Monday anyway. ..."

In spite what you may have recently heard, the Freedom Party is hardly dead in Austria and the "far right" has hardly collapsed.

Sweden

The Local:

"Sweden's ruling centre-left party, the Social Democrats, won 23.7 percent of the vote according to the preliminary results, with a slight decrease of 0.9 percentage points. The Moderate Party followed in second spot, with 16.7 percent, ahead of the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats at 15.6 percent, less than they both got in public broadcaster SVT's first exit polls earlier in the evening. The latter saw the biggest increased compared to the last European elections in 2014. ..."

The Sweden Democrats gained ground:

Sweden: SVT exit poll shows Feminist Initiative (S&D) facing its worst election result since its 2006 creation, losing its single seat:



2009: 2.2% (*)

2014: 5.5% (+3)

2019: 0.8% (-5)#EUElections2019 #svpol — Europe Elects (@EuropeElects) May 26, 2019

Sweden: SVT exit poll confirms fifth straight election advancement for the Sweden Democrats:



1999: 0.3% (*)

2004: 1.2% (+1)

2009: 3.3% (+2)

2014: 9.7% (+7)

2019: 16.9% (+7)https://t.co/TrlignutFQ #EUElections2019 #svpol — Europe Elects (@EuropeElects) May 26, 2019

BREAKING: European Elections:

?? ?? Sweden: Right wing party Svenskedemokraterne (SD) with biggest gains, becomes third biggest party in Sweden, Socialist party (S) remains biggest party. — BNL NEWS (@BreakingNLive) May 26, 2019

Slovenia

AP:

"Election authorities in Slovenia say an anti-immigrant party has won most votes in the European election but less than allied moderate groups together. The State Election Commission said Sunday that near-complete results showed that the Slovenian Democratic Party of former Prime Minister Janez Jansa — an ally of Hungary’s hard-line Prime Minister Viktor Orban — has won 26.5% of the vote. ..."

Populists won in Slovenia.