Towards the European Elections

The upcoming European elections in June are drawing near, making political alignments and electoral strategies increasingly clear.

While the electoral round is crucial for the future of the European Union, especially in the face of new and complex global challenges, parliamentary elections are always a rather peculiar moment, which has not always received great attention at the national level.

Nevertheless, the current phase, which likely represents the climax of the electoral campaign, is also a crucial opportunity for parties and candidates to go all out ahead of the election deadline.

In recent weeks, indeed, there have been developments, starting with the presentation of the electoral program of the European People's Party (EPP), which is led by the current President of the Commission and is currently leading in the polls.

The program, considering electoral needs as well, seems to veer to the right, with immigration, defense, and the environment at the forefront, but with a much more conservative approach than in the past; likely an opening to the galaxy made up of right-wing formations, which are clearly gaining ground in all national realities[1].

This is an electoral need, considering the polls, that as previously anticipated, see the EPP as the favorite, but with a slimmer majority compared to the last round. A decisive factor to be able to re-elect Ursula von der Leyen as President of the Commission, after the news of her candidacy for a second term was made public during February.

The issue seems rather complex and not as straightforward as one might imagine, despite the high approval received by the current President within practically all European chancelleries. Much will be at stake in the upcoming electoral round, with a high probability of seeing the current alliance between conservatives and progressives, which supports the so-called 'Ursula majority'[2], but which could open up to alliances with formations like Identity and Democracy (ID) and the European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR), with sovereignist and distinctly right-wing connotations.

The situation has led to a clear response from the European Socialist Party (PSE) as well, which, in addition to heavily and openly attacking Italian leader Giorgia Meloni, seen as the linchpin figure of the new European right and current President of ECR, has publicly announced the candidacy of its representative for the presidency of the European Commission, Nicolas Schimt, and a 20-point manifesto outlining the principles that should guide their actions in the coming years[3].

The next few weeks will be essential to have an even clearer picture of the electoral trends and, above all, the strategies ahead of the elections scheduled to take place between June 6 and 9 throughout Europe.

Mondo Internazionale APS - All Rights Reserved ® 2024

Translated by Stefania Errico