The European Parliament elections did not result in a shift to the “hard right,” but rather a marginal seat gain for the competing hard/far-right groupings.
The big picture: Coalitions play a significant role in the European Parliament due to proportional voting systems, making it rare for any one political group to have a majority. Over the coming weeks deals will be done, blocs put together, but the bottom line is that future is unlikely to be radically different from the past.
The bottom line: The most dramatic outcome of the European elections was French President, Emmanuelle Macron’s decision call a national election. Macron was reacting to the 30% of the vote received by the far-right RN of Marine Le Pen.
Why it matters: As we write, all the key French political actors are deciding how best to position themselves for maximum electoral advantage. The French legislative elections are conducted over two rounds. After the first round, the top three go into a run-off election, but it is unusual for the third placed candidate to proceed. They often drop out. Deals are done between parties, between the two rounds, to maximise their gains.
