A new poll released by Germany's Bild newspaper on Saturday, conducted in six countries in late February and early March, showed the far-right Europe of Nations and Freedom Group (ENF) was likely to win 67 seats in the European Parliament election in May.



Read more: Macron issues plea for Europe ahead of EU elections

Europeans go to the polls on May 23-26 to elect representatives to the 705-seat European Parliament. Currently, the ENF group holds 37 seats.

According to the Bild report, which surveyed more than 9,000 people, right-wing euroskeptic parties are in the lead in three of the six countries surveyed.

In France, Marine Le Pen's National Rally party is likely to receive 23 percent of the vote. In Italy, Matteo Salvini's League is poised to win 33 percent of the vote. In Poland, Jaroslaw Kaczynski's Law and Justice, which is not a member of the ENF group, is on pace to secure 42 percent.

Read more: Poland's young voters turning to the right

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Conservatives, left-leaning parties shed support

Conservative and left-leaning parties have been bracing for a right-wing surge in the European polls following a string of national elections in recent years that have seen euroskeptic parties boost their presence in member state parliaments.

The poll showed the conservative European People's Party (EPP) shedding 43 seats, dropping to 174. Meanwhile, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats (S&P) was predicted to lose 45 seats, dropping to 141.

The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) is on pace to add 33 seats to hit 101, while the European Greens (EFA) may lose eight seats to reach 44, according to the poll results.

The poll was conducted in Germany, Austria, Italy, Poland, Spain and France.

Conservatives lead in Germany

In Germany, the poll showed Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian ally, the Christian Social Union, remaining the strongest party with 29 percent.

Read more: Who votes for Germany's far-right party AfD? Not who you'd think

The Social Democrats and Greens are likely to win 16 and 15 percent of the vote, respectively. The far-right Alternative for Deutschland (AfD), which is not a member of the ENF group, was expected to get 12 percent of the vote while the Left Party was likely to get 9 percent.

Germany's major political parties — What you need to know Christian Democratic Union (CDU) The CDU has traditionally been the main center-right party across Germany, but it shifted toward the center under Chancellor Angela Merkel. The party remains more fiscally and socially conservative compared to parties on the left. It supports membership of the EU and NATO, budgetary discipline at home and abroad and generally likes the status quo. It is the largest party in the Bundestag.

Germany's major political parties — What you need to know Christian Social Union (CSU) The CSU is the sister party of the CDU in Bavaria and the two act symbiotically at the national level (CDU/CSU). Despite their similarities, the CSU is generally more conservative than the CDU on social issues. The CSU leader and premier of Bavaria, Markus Söder, ordered crosses in every state building in 2018.

Germany's major political parties — What you need to know Social Democrats (SPD) The SPD is Germany's oldest political party and the main center-left rival of the CDU/CSU. It shares the CDU/CSU support for the EU and NATO, but it takes a more progressive stance on social issues and welfare policies. It is currently in a coalition government with the CDU/CSU and is trying to win back support under interim leaders Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel, Manuela Schwesig and Malu Dreyer.

Germany's major political parties — What you need to know Alternative for Germany (AfD) The new kid on the block is the largest opposition party in the Bundestag. The far-right party was founded in 2013 and entered the Bundestag for the first time in 2017 under the stewardship of Alice Weidel and Alexander Gauland. It is largely united by opposition to Merkel's immigration policy, euroscepticism, and belief in the alleged dangers posed by Germany's Muslim population.

Germany's major political parties — What you need to know Free Democrats (FDP) The FDP has traditionally been the kingmaker of German politics. Although it has never received more than 15 percent of the vote, it has formed multiple coalition governments with both the CDU/CSU and SPD. The FDP, today led by Christian Lindner, supports less government spending and lower taxes, but takes a progressive stance on social issues such as gay marriage or religion.

Germany's major political parties — What you need to know The Greens The Greens, led today by Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck, emerged from the environmental movement in the 1980s. Unsuprisingly, it supports efforts to fight climate change and protect the environment. It is also progressive on social issues. But strong divisions have occasionally emerged on other topics. The party famously split in the late 1990s over whether to use military force in Kosovo.

Germany's major political parties — What you need to know The Left The Left, led by Katja Kipping and Bernd Riexinger, is the most left-wing party in the Bundestag. It supports major redistribution of wealth at home and a pacifist stance abroad, including withdrawing Germany from NATO. It emerged from the successor party to the Socialist Unity Party (SED) that ruled communist East Germany until 1989. Today, it still enjoys most of its support in eastern Germany. Author: Alexander Pearson



cw/cmk (dpa, Reuters)

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