Europe-wide vote fragments center as far right, Greens gain
A woman casts her ballot at a polling station during the second round of voting in presidential elections in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunday, May 26, 2019. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
A woman exits a voting cabin with curtains depicting the European Union in Baleni, Romania, Sunday, May 26, 2019. The ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD) suffered a major blow in the European Parliament elections according to the country’s only exit poll. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
People vote at the Groendal Center in Copenhagen during the European Parliament elections 2019, Sunday May 26, 2019.(Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage walks off the stage after results were announced at the counting center for the European Elections for the South East England region, in Southampton, England, early Monday, May 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Italian Interior Minister and Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini, of the League, casts his ballot for the European Parliament elections, at a polling station in Milan, Italy, Sunday, May 26, 2019. Pivotal elections for the European Union parliament reach their climax Sunday as the last 21 nations go to the polls and results are announced in a vote that boils down to a continent-wide battle between euroskeptic populists and proponents of closer EU unity. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Green party chairwoman Annalena Baerbock and EU parliament member Sven Giegold celebrate after the first results in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, May 26, 2019. (Kay Nietfeld/dpa via AP)
A presenter shows ongoing projections of results on a large screen in the press room at the European Parliament in Brussels, Sunday, May 26, 2019. From Germany and France to Cyprus and Estonia, voters from 21 nations went to the polls Sunday in the final day of a crucial European Parliament election that could see major gains by the far-right, nationalist and populist movements that are on the rise across much of the continent. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)
A woman with a tradtional hat casts her vote for the European elections in the black forest city of Gutach, southern Germany, Sunday, May 26, 2019. (Patrick Seeger/dpa via AP)
Monks from the Saint Sixtus Trappist Abbey cast their votes behind curtains at a polling station in Westvleteren, Belgium, Sunday, May 26, 2019. Belgium, which has one of the oldest compulsory voting systems, goes to the polls Sunday to vote on the regional, federal and European level. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)
Italian Interior Minister and Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini, of the League, gestures to photographers and cameramen to keep quiet as he arrives to vote for the European Parliament elections at a polling station in Milan, Italy, Sunday, May 26, 2019. Pivotal elections for the European Union parliament reach their climax Sunday as the last 21 nations go to the polls and results are announced in a vote that boils down to a continent-wide battle between euroskeptic populists and proponents of closer EU unity. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
European flags blow in front of the European Central Bank as the sun rises in Frankfurt, Germany, Sunday, May 26, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Women wearing folk costumes cast their vote during the European elections in a polling station in Bujak, Hungary, Sunday, May 26, 2019. The European Parliament election is held by member countries of the European Union (EU) from May 23 to 26, 2019. (Peter Komka/MTI via AP)
Far-right National Party leader Marine le Pen delivers a speech at the campaign headquarters, Sunday, May 26, 2019 in Paris. Exit polls in France indicated that Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party came out on top, in an astounding rebuke for French President Emmanuel Macron, who has made EU integration the heart of his presidency. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis waits to cast his ballot in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, May 26, 2019. Romanians vote in the European Parliament elections and a referendum called by Iohannis on judicial system laws.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Two Catholic nuns vote at a polling station in Rome, Sunday, May 26, 2019. Pivotal elections for the European Union parliament reach their climax Sunday as the last 21 nations go to the polls and results are announced in a vote that boils down to a continent-wide battle between euroskeptic populists and proponents of closer EU unity. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras casts his vote at a polling station in Athens on Sunday, May 26, 2019. Polls opened early Sunday in Greece, with nearly 10 million registered voters called upon to vote for the European Parliament, regional and local councils in 39,063 polling stations across the country. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)
A boy looks out from a voting booth as a man holds his dog at a polling station in Athens on Sunday, May 26, 2019. Polls opened early Sunday in Greece, with nearly 10 million registered voters called upon to vote for the European Parliament, regional and local councils in 39,063 polling stations across the country. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)
A little girl plays while a woman casts her vote in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, May 26, 2019. Romanians vote in the European Parliament elections and a referendum called by President Klaus Iohannis on judicial system laws.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
A woman casts her ballot at a polling station during the second round of voting in presidential elections in Vilnius, Lithuania, Sunday, May 26, 2019. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
A woman exits a voting cabin with curtains depicting the European Union in Baleni, Romania, Sunday, May 26, 2019. The ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD) suffered a major blow in the European Parliament elections according to the country’s only exit poll. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
A woman exits a voting cabin with curtains depicting the European Union in Baleni, Romania, Sunday, May 26, 2019. The ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD) suffered a major blow in the European Parliament elections according to the country’s only exit poll. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
People vote at the Groendal Center in Copenhagen during the European Parliament elections 2019, Sunday May 26, 2019.(Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)
Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage walks off the stage after results were announced at the counting center for the European Elections for the South East England region, in Southampton, England, early Monday, May 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage walks off the stage after results were announced at the counting center for the European Elections for the South East England region, in Southampton, England, early Monday, May 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Italian Interior Minister and Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini, of the League, casts his ballot for the European Parliament elections, at a polling station in Milan, Italy, Sunday, May 26, 2019. Pivotal elections for the European Union parliament reach their climax Sunday as the last 21 nations go to the polls and results are announced in a vote that boils down to a continent-wide battle between euroskeptic populists and proponents of closer EU unity. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Italian Interior Minister and Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini, of the League, casts his ballot for the European Parliament elections, at a polling station in Milan, Italy, Sunday, May 26, 2019. Pivotal elections for the European Union parliament reach their climax Sunday as the last 21 nations go to the polls and results are announced in a vote that boils down to a continent-wide battle between euroskeptic populists and proponents of closer EU unity. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Green party chairwoman Annalena Baerbock and EU parliament member Sven Giegold celebrate after the first results in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, May 26, 2019. (Kay Nietfeld/dpa via AP)
A presenter shows ongoing projections of results on a large screen in the press room at the European Parliament in Brussels, Sunday, May 26, 2019. From Germany and France to Cyprus and Estonia, voters from 21 nations went to the polls Sunday in the final day of a crucial European Parliament election that could see major gains by the far-right, nationalist and populist movements that are on the rise across much of the continent. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)
A presenter shows ongoing projections of results on a large screen in the press room at the European Parliament in Brussels, Sunday, May 26, 2019. From Germany and France to Cyprus and Estonia, voters from 21 nations went to the polls Sunday in the final day of a crucial European Parliament election that could see major gains by the far-right, nationalist and populist movements that are on the rise across much of the continent. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)
A woman with a tradtional hat casts her vote for the European elections in the black forest city of Gutach, southern Germany, Sunday, May 26, 2019. (Patrick Seeger/dpa via AP)
Monks from the Saint Sixtus Trappist Abbey cast their votes behind curtains at a polling station in Westvleteren, Belgium, Sunday, May 26, 2019. Belgium, which has one of the oldest compulsory voting systems, goes to the polls Sunday to vote on the regional, federal and European level. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)
Monks from the Saint Sixtus Trappist Abbey cast their votes behind curtains at a polling station in Westvleteren, Belgium, Sunday, May 26, 2019. Belgium, which has one of the oldest compulsory voting systems, goes to the polls Sunday to vote on the regional, federal and European level. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)
Italian Interior Minister and Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini, of the League, gestures to photographers and cameramen to keep quiet as he arrives to vote for the European Parliament elections at a polling station in Milan, Italy, Sunday, May 26, 2019. Pivotal elections for the European Union parliament reach their climax Sunday as the last 21 nations go to the polls and results are announced in a vote that boils down to a continent-wide battle between euroskeptic populists and proponents of closer EU unity. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Italian Interior Minister and Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini, of the League, gestures to photographers and cameramen to keep quiet as he arrives to vote for the European Parliament elections at a polling station in Milan, Italy, Sunday, May 26, 2019. Pivotal elections for the European Union parliament reach their climax Sunday as the last 21 nations go to the polls and results are announced in a vote that boils down to a continent-wide battle between euroskeptic populists and proponents of closer EU unity. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
European flags blow in front of the European Central Bank as the sun rises in Frankfurt, Germany, Sunday, May 26, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Women wearing folk costumes cast their vote during the European elections in a polling station in Bujak, Hungary, Sunday, May 26, 2019. The European Parliament election is held by member countries of the European Union (EU) from May 23 to 26, 2019. (Peter Komka/MTI via AP)
Women wearing folk costumes cast their vote during the European elections in a polling station in Bujak, Hungary, Sunday, May 26, 2019. The European Parliament election is held by member countries of the European Union (EU) from May 23 to 26, 2019. (Peter Komka/MTI via AP)
Far-right National Party leader Marine le Pen delivers a speech at the campaign headquarters, Sunday, May 26, 2019 in Paris. Exit polls in France indicated that Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party came out on top, in an astounding rebuke for French President Emmanuel Macron, who has made EU integration the heart of his presidency. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Far-right National Party leader Marine le Pen delivers a speech at the campaign headquarters, Sunday, May 26, 2019 in Paris. Exit polls in France indicated that Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party came out on top, in an astounding rebuke for French President Emmanuel Macron, who has made EU integration the heart of his presidency. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis waits to cast his ballot in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, May 26, 2019. Romanians vote in the European Parliament elections and a referendum called by Iohannis on judicial system laws.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Romanian President Klaus Iohannis waits to cast his ballot in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, May 26, 2019. Romanians vote in the European Parliament elections and a referendum called by Iohannis on judicial system laws.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Two Catholic nuns vote at a polling station in Rome, Sunday, May 26, 2019. Pivotal elections for the European Union parliament reach their climax Sunday as the last 21 nations go to the polls and results are announced in a vote that boils down to a continent-wide battle between euroskeptic populists and proponents of closer EU unity. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Two Catholic nuns vote at a polling station in Rome, Sunday, May 26, 2019. Pivotal elections for the European Union parliament reach their climax Sunday as the last 21 nations go to the polls and results are announced in a vote that boils down to a continent-wide battle between euroskeptic populists and proponents of closer EU unity. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras casts his vote at a polling station in Athens on Sunday, May 26, 2019. Polls opened early Sunday in Greece, with nearly 10 million registered voters called upon to vote for the European Parliament, regional and local councils in 39,063 polling stations across the country. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)
Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras casts his vote at a polling station in Athens on Sunday, May 26, 2019. Polls opened early Sunday in Greece, with nearly 10 million registered voters called upon to vote for the European Parliament, regional and local councils in 39,063 polling stations across the country. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)
A boy looks out from a voting booth as a man holds his dog at a polling station in Athens on Sunday, May 26, 2019. Polls opened early Sunday in Greece, with nearly 10 million registered voters called upon to vote for the European Parliament, regional and local councils in 39,063 polling stations across the country. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)
A boy looks out from a voting booth as a man holds his dog at a polling station in Athens on Sunday, May 26, 2019. Polls opened early Sunday in Greece, with nearly 10 million registered voters called upon to vote for the European Parliament, regional and local councils in 39,063 polling stations across the country. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)
A little girl plays while a woman casts her vote in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, May 26, 2019. Romanians vote in the European Parliament elections and a referendum called by President Klaus Iohannis on judicial system laws.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
A little girl plays while a woman casts her vote in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday, May 26, 2019. Romanians vote in the European Parliament elections and a referendum called by President Klaus Iohannis on judicial system laws.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s traditional center splintered in the hardest-fought European Parliament elections in decades, with the far right and pro-environment Greens gaining ground on Sunday after four days of a polarized vote.
Turnout was at a two-decade high over the balloting across the 28 European Union countries. The elections were seen as a test of the influence of the nationalist, populist and hard-right movements that have swept the continent in recent years and impelled Britain to quit the EU altogether. Both supporters of closer European unity and those who consider the EU a meddlesome and bureaucratic presence portrayed the vote as crucial for the future of the bloc.
In Britain , voters went for the extremes, with the strongest showing for Nigel Farage’s the newly formed Brexit party and a surge for the staunchly pro-European Liberal Democrats, versus a near wipeout for Conservatives. In France, an electorate that voted Emmanuel Macron into presidential office in 2017 did an about-face and the party of his defeated opponent, Marine Le Pen, drew into first place. In Germany , Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition saw a drastic loss in support to the Greens and, to a lesser extent, the far right. Italy’s League party, led by Matteo Salvini, claimed 32% of the vote in early projections, compared with around 6% five years ago.
“Not only is the League the first party in Italy, but Marine Le Pen is first in France, Nigel Farage is first in Great Britain. Therefore, Italy, France and England: the sign of a Europe that is changing, that is fed up,” Salvini said.
Despite gains, the vote was hardly the watershed anticipated by Europe’s far-right populists, who have vowed to dilute the European Union from within in favor of national sovereignty. Pro-EU parties still were expected to win about two-thirds of the 751-seat legislature that sits in Brussels and Strasbourg, according to the projections released by the parliament and based on the results rolling in overnight.
The continent-wide voting had major implications not just for the functioning of the bloc but also for the internal politics in many countries . Le Pen exulted that the expected result “confirms the new nationalist-globalist division” in France and beyond; Greece’s governing party called for snap elections after its loss; and Salvini was expected to capitalize on the outcome to boost his power at home.
“The monopoly of power is broken,” Margrethe Vestager, of the pro-EU ALDE grouping that includes Macron’s party. Vestager declared herself a candidate to lead the European commission for ALDE, which gained seats in large part because Macron’s party is itself a newcomer.
Le Pen’s far-right, anti-immigrant National Rally party came out on top in France with 24% in an astonishing rebuke of Macron, who has made EU integration the heart of his presidency. His party drew just over 21%, according to government results.
Exit polls in Germany, the EU’s biggest country, likewise indicated Merkel’s party and its center-left coalition partner also suffered losses, while the Greens were set for big gains and the far right was expected to pick up slightly more support.
Turnout across the bloc was put at 50.5%, a 20-year high. An estimated 426 million people were eligible to vote.
The results will likely leave Parliament’s two main parties, the European People’s Party and the Socialists & Democrats, without a majority for the first time since 1979, opening the way for complicated talks to form a working coalition. The Greens and the ALDE free-market liberals were jockeying to become decisive in the body.
A subdued Esther de Lange, vice chair of the European People’s Party, conceded that the results indicate “fragmentation and a shrinking center.”
The Greens did well not just in Germany but in France and Ireland. “The Green wave has really spread all over Europe, and for us that is a fantastic result,” said Ska Keller, the group’s co-leader in the Parliament.
Germany’s Manfred Weber, the candidate of the EPP, the biggest party in Parliament, said that now it is “most necessary for the forces that believe in this Europe, that want to lead this Europe to a good future, that have ambitions for this Europe” to work together.
The EU and its Parliament set trade policy on the continent, regulate agriculture, oversee antitrust enforcement and set monetary policy for 19 of the 28 nations sharing the euro currency. Britain voted, even though it is planning to leave the EU. Its EU lawmakers will lose their jobs as soon as Brexit happens.
Europe has been roiled in the past few years by immigration from the Mideast and Africa and deadly attacks by Islamic extremists. It has also seen rising tensions over economic inequality and growing hostility toward the political establishment — sentiments not unlike those that got Donald Trump elected in the U.S.
Hungary’s increasingly authoritarian prime minister Viktor Orban, a possible ally of Italy’s Salvini, said he hopes the election will bring a shift toward political parties that want to stop migration. The migration issue “will reorganize the political spectrum in the European Union,” he said.
Proponents of stronger EU integration, led by Macron, argue that issues like climate change and immigration are too big for any one country to tackle alone. His lead candidate, Nathalie Loiseau, said she would continue the fight against nationalists in the European Parliament.
With the elections over, European leaders are jockeying over the top jobs in the EU’s headquarters in Brussels. The leaders meet for a summit over dinner Tuesday. Current European lawmakers’ terms end July 1, and the new parliament will be seated the following day.
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Associated Press writers Mike Corder, Veselin Toshkov in Sofia, Bulgaria; Joseph Wilson in Barcelona, Spain; Pablo Gorondi in Budapest; Sylvie Corbet in Paris; Colleen Barry in Milan; Jill Lawless in London; and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.
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For more news from The Associated Press on the European Parliament elections go to https://www.apnews.com/EuropeanParliament