During the year 2022, Europe witnessed several elections, the results of which changed the political map of many countries and thus the entire continent.
During the year 2022, Europe witnessed several elections, the results of which changed the political map of many countries and thus the entire continent.
We review for you the most important of these elections and their results:
The far right is leading Italy for the first time since World War I
The most important of these elections came in Italy, which witnessed the victory of far-right Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right “Brotherhood of Italy” party, as prime minister.
The party formed a government coalition with other far-right parties such as the “Northern League” led by former interior chief Matteo Salvini and the center-right “Forza Italia” led by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.
And this coalition increased anti-European fears in Italy, one of the founding states of the European Union.
However, Meloni contradicted those fears by emphasizing a policy not hostile to the Union because of “the dependence of Italy’s economy on the European Fund,” according to the description of Daniele Albertazzi, an Italian professor of politics at the University of Surrey in Britain.
In addition to shying away from a fight with Brussels, Meloni has also taken a pro-NATO stance and supported increased European defense spending to help Ukraine in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion in February.
Viktor Orban wins the fourth consecutive election in Hungary
Viktor Orban secured a record fourth term as Prime Minister of Hungary after a landslide election victory in April Alma.
His right-wing populist Videsh party won more than two-thirds of the parliamentary seats.
In his first comment after the election, Orban boasted that “we won a victory so big you can see it from the moon, you can certainly see it from Brussels,” referring to the EU headquarters.
This jab at the European Commission is part of a long-running dispute with Budapest over whether Hungary under Orban adheres to EU values.
The European Commission announced that it will withhold total EU cohesion funds for Hungary between 2021 and 2027, a figure of €22 billion.
Those assets will be frozen until the required conditions related to judicial independence, academic freedoms, LGBT rights and Hungary’s asylum system are met.
Big gains for the far right in the Swedish elections
The Sweden Democrats, a party known for its links to the fascist and neo-Nazi movements in Sweden during the 1990s, finished second in the vote, behind the Social Democratic Party.
This enabled right-wing party leader Jimmy Oxon to play a powerful role in forming the new right-wing government, and although his party is not an official member of this coalition of moderates, Christian Democrats and liberals, it still wields considerable power.
Lukas Dahlström, a correspondent for Finnish public broadcaster Yle, said the Sweden Democrats now wielded significant political influence. He added that Sweden’s Democrats had used it to influence “immigration policy as well as law and order reforms”.
This comes amid concerns in Brussels about the influence of the Swedish Democrats on the Stockholm Presidency of the Council of the European Union from January 1, 2023.
A second presidential term for Macron in France
France’s pro-European parties received a boost in April when President Emmanuel Macron won a second term by defeating far-right rival Marine Le Pen in a run-off.
However, Macron’s “Ennahda” party lost its absolute parliamentary majority in the French legislative elections that took place two months after the presidential election.
Macron continued to pursue his pro-European political agenda and led the European political community that brings together the EU and other countries, especially those seeking to join the 27-nation bloc.
The overthrow of the populist former prime minister of Slovenia
Populist Prime Minister Yaniz Jansa, a supporter of Donald Trump, who was accused of taking Slovenia on a right-wing path similar to Hungary, was ousted after a surprise election result in April.
A new liberal party called the Freedom Movement shocked observers by winning 34.5% of the vote against 23.6% for Jansa’s Democratic Party of Slovenia.
The party’s founder and leader, Robert Golub, became the new Prime Minister of Slovenia.
Golub promised to save his country’s relationship with the European Union, which was badly damaged by Jansa’s closeness to Orban.
As part of Gollob’s socially progressive agenda, Slovenia became the first post-communist European country to legalize same-sex marriage, last July.
Slovenia also supported the expansion of the free movement zone in the European Union to include Croatia, despite a three-decade border dispute between the two countries, which previously saw Slovenia prevent Croatia from joining the European Union.
