![European elections 2024: Poland, Hungary… these countries where the far right is on the decline European elections 2024: Poland, Hungary… these countries where the far right is on the decline](https://media.lesechos.com/api/v1/images/view/6666df0fe59c2531c971c639/1280x720/01101779117120-web-tete.jpg)
The extreme and radical rights are making progress in several large European countries, but the trend is not generalized in the Union. Hard-right parties achieved disappointing results in, for example, Finland, Sweden and Denmark during Sunday’s European elections. The setbacks are remarkable, especially in Central Europe, even if the poor performance must be put into perspective.
“In Central Europe, the radical Eurosceptic wave, powerful in 2019, has stopped, even if it is not ebbing everywhere,” analyzes Lukas Macek, of the Jacques-Delors Institute. The explanation must above all be sought in each of the national contexts. Overall, the anti-European and anti-system dynamic may have reached a ceiling. »
This is particularly the case in Hungary. This country was closely scrutinized in the capitals of the Twenty-Seven after the sudden emergence of an unexpected opponent in Viktor Orban. The Europhobic Prime Minister defends an “illiberal” version of democracy, maintains strong ties with Vladimir Putin’s Russia and opposes a multitude of European policies.
Viktor Orban steps back
Peter Magyar’s right-wing list obtained 7 seats in the European Parliament after winning 30% of the vote. Viktor Orban’s Fidesz remains dominant, with 11 elected officials and nearly 45% of the vote, but it recorded its worst result since its return to power in Budapest in 2010.
Peter Magyar, a 43-year-old lawyer, was completely unknown in Hungary only a few months ago. Hungarians voted massively: participation exceeded 58%, 15 points more than in 2019, a record since the country’s entry into the EU in 2004. This mobilization in favor of Peter Magyar penalized not only Fidesz , but also the traditional opposition parties, which puts into perspective the importance of rebalancing the political landscape.
Poland’s weight in the EU strengthened
In Poland, the election was marked by a clear decline in PiS, the ultranationalist and sovereignist party which was in power in Warsaw until last year. The PiS won only 19 seats, 6 fewer than in the previous Parliament. He came in second place only, a first in ten years.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s center-right party came first with 21 MEPs. “Tusk strengthens its position in Poland and at European level. He is, with Giorgia Meloni, the EU leader who enjoys the strongest democratic mandate, estimates Piotr Buras of the European Council on Foreign Relations. Poland thus has the opportunity to strengthen its power at the European level, while Macron and Scholz suffered humiliating defeats. »
But another far-right party, Konfederacja, achieved unprecedented success with nearly 12% of the vote, ensuring it is represented in Strasbourg. Adding up PiS and Konfederacja, almost half of Poles voted for parties from the radical right groups ECR and ID in the European Parliament. “Europe has become a subject of division in Poland and will remain so,” notes Piotr Buras.
Participation on the rise
Third country in the East where the radical right is underperforming, Slovakia. The party of Prime Minister Robert Fico, a populist leader opposed to support for Ukraine, came in behind the centrist opposition Progressive Slovakia party. A result driven, again, by a sharp increase in participation (34%, 12 points more than in 2019). “This is a fairly clear disavowal for Robert Fico and the three parties in his coalition,” judges Lukas Macek.
But for Michal Vasecka, of the Bratislava Policy Institute, a liberal think tank, the far right has not retreated in Slovakia, despite this relative success of the opposition. “Half of the Slovak MEPs elected on Sunday belong to radical right, far-right groups and some can even be described as fascists,” he said.
![](https://media.lesechos.com/api/v1/images/view/666732c83ce9a92bc14ff94b/contenu_article/image.jpg)