-The 2024 European Parliament elections brought along several changes in the composition of the EP. By the number of seats lost, Renew Europe was the biggest loser of the vote, while parties belonging to the political extreme right managed to increase their number of MEPs.
-There are several differences between the composition of the Renew group after the 2019 EP elections and after this year’s vote but examining how Renew member parties performed in the elections in their respective countries we find that the significant decrease in the number of EP seats for Renew comes from only 4 Member States. Within the 17 Member States where the change in the number of seats won by Renew member parties didn’t exceed 2, the group actually increased the number of its MEPs by a total of 3.
-The reasons why the Czech, French, Romanian and Spanish member parties of Renew contributed to the EP group’s significant loss of seats in 2024 are very different, and they don’t indicate the presence of a general electoral fatigue towards liberal politics or political parties in the EU.
-Czech ANO’s case is particularly noteworthy: Andrej Babiš’s right-wing populist party actually achieved better results this year than in 2019, winning 7 seats in the EP instead of 6, but the party quit Renew, and joined recently founded Patriots for Europe. While ANO’s departure means a decrease in the number of Renew seats, it is not necessarily a political loss for the group as Babiš’s party had long been a burden for them.
-While there is a rise of the populist far-right in Europe, there is no indication of that rise necessarily taking place in the expense of liberal parties. The case of FPÖ and NEOS in Austria proves that a liberal and a far-right party can improve their election results simultaneously.
-Renew’s drastic loss of seats in the European Parliament in 2024 doesn’t mean the twilight of liberal politics, and the rising of the populist right should not be regarded as a sign of declining liberalism, but as an opportunity for liberals to stand out as the most relentless defenders of liberal democracy.
The full analysis can be read here!
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