In European Parliamentary elections earlier this month, far-right parties in France and Germany made significant gains, even pushing French President Emmanuel Macron to call for a snap legislative election. Will these gains by right-wing populists affect Europe’s support for Ukraine? We asked five experts to tell us.Read more below. Frank Sauer Head of Research, Metis Institute for Strategy and Foresight Senior Research Fellow, Bundeswehr University MunichA new European Parliament has been elected. The right wing has gained, but the center has held. This result is neither surprising nor a sudden shift. It merely solidifies an existing trend: Right-wing populism is here to stay.The immediate problem is that France and Germany are in disarray. President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Olaf Scholz were not in sync before, and now Macron’s gamble to dissolve the French parliament brings to mind how British Prime Minister David Cameron accidentally caused Brexit. Meanwhile, the shell-shocked German traffic light coalition parties are transitioning from damage assessment directly to campaigning for the 2025 national elections. Franco-German mental bandwidth for Ukraine is shrinking.European unity has held so far, despite leaders such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico. Drastic short-term shifts regarding support for Ukraine are unlikely. But there is reason for concern going forward. Right-wing European Parliament members keep getting caught with Kremlin money in their pockets. An increase in rhetoric friendly to Russian President Vladimir Putin emerging from the parliament can be expected.This election could thus be a harbinger of future events. E.U. skepticism and centrifugal forces threaten to incapacitate the Europeans when they can least afford it. If Europe fails to safeguard itself against a potential Donald Trump presidency, it is in trouble. Jeremy Shapiro Director of Research European Council on Foreign RelationsMy college roommate had a foolproof plan for
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In European Parliamentary elections earlier this month, far-right parties in France and Germany made significant gains, even pushing French President Emmanuel Macron to call for a snap legislative election. Will these gains by right-wing populists affect Europe’s support for Ukraine? We asked five experts to tell us.Read more below. Frank Sauer Head of Research, Metis Institute for Strategy and Foresight Senior Research Fellow, Bundeswehr University MunichA new European Parliament has been elected. The right wing has gained, but the center has held. This result is neither surprising nor a sudden shift. It merely solidifies an existing trend: Right-wing populism is here to stay.The
