Europe Inching to the Right After a Twisty Election Night

Snap elections in France, the Belgian Prime Minister resigning, and the German coalition government in turmoil—all happening in the wake of the European elections. Even though the elections, billed as crucial, did not bring the right-wing turnaround many had hoped for, the right-wing parties, almost without exception, performed well, causing panic among the liberal elite in Western Europe.

Hungarian Democracy Is Doing Well, But the Same Can’t Be Said of the Left

On Sunday, Hungarians went to the polls in an atmosphere of heightened emotions. The day after the election that saw a record turnout several conclusions can be drawn: the traditional left has nearly disappeared, anti-Hungarian conduct in the EP has been punished by voters, and Fidesz remains by far the strongest party. However, there are still many unanswered questions, especially regarding the next steps of the newcomer Tisza party.

Fidesz Wins by Third Highest Margin, with Third Highest Vote Share in Europe

The long-ruling right-wing Fidesz party won by the third largest margin in the European Parliamentary elections last night, behind the PSD-PNL big tent coalition in Romania and long-time ally Marine Le Pen’s right-wing populist Rassemblement National in France. Fidesz also got the third highest vote share, behind PSD-PNL’s 53 per cent and the Maltese Labour Party’s 45 per cent.

Geert Wilders’ PVV Makes Big Gains on First EP Election Day

Despite slipping slightly from first place according to the exit polls, Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom (PVV) managed to significantly increase the number of MEPs it is to send to the EP on the first day of the European elections. PVV will have seven seats in the new EP, with Wilders expressing hope that the official results, to be announced on 9 June, will confirm that his party came in first.

Daniel Pitt

‘Political families have to battle on the intellectual and the political level’ — A Conversation with Dr Daniel Pitt, Teaching Associate at the University of Sheffield 

‘You have to have different levels of political engagement. You have to win at different levels, the intellectual level, the battle of ideas level, you’ve got to win at this  level. And then you’ve got the next level down, that you’ve got to win on policy, and win the debate politically, and then politicians translate these ideas into their own language and then they have to be able to convey that message to the voters. These are two different roles, but they are also overlapping. Like Edmund Burke, one of the greatest conservative thinkers, was also an active politician.’