EU Elections Kick off in the Netherlands

Above: Flags of the European Union on June 6, 2024 in The Hague, Netherlands. Image copyright: Pierre Crom/Contributor/Getty Images News via Getty Images

The Facts

  • The European Union's four-day parliamentary elections kicked off Thursday in the Netherlands, where exit polls show Prime Minister Geert Wilders' Party for Freedom (PVV) making strong gains.

  • Wilders' party won last year's national election, riding a wave of populism and nationalism growing in Europe. However, he failed to win a seat in the previous EU elections in 2019.


The Spin

Right narrative

The European Parliament elections come at a critical moment for Europeans who are dissatisfied with the EU's open-border policies. While counterintuitive, Eurosceptics and nationalists must vote in the elections to ensure that the 27-member bloc is filled with members who respect national sovereignty. The European right is making a major comeback at the national level, and that momentum must be carried into the elections.

Left narrative

The European far-right appears to be making electoral gains but is unlikely to become an influential player in European politics. The right-wing continues to be divided on many fronts, and those divisions will derail any advancement of far-right ideology. However, it's still important for liberals to vote in the elections and maintain a more mainstream coalition. The biggest fear is that the far-right infiltrates more mainstream parties on the center-right.


Metaculus Prediction


Public figures in this story


Political split

LEFT

RIGHT

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