Photo: Getty Images. In the center, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

On June 6-9, 27 EU countries held elections for candidates for seats in the European Parliament until 2029. The center held its ground, but the results in general are thought-provoking. 

The main surprise for many was the results of the vote in Germany. Although the Christian Democratic Union (CDU/CSU) won with 30%, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) came in second with 15.9%. Putin's favorite party has overtaken the party of incumbent Chancellor Scholz (SPD). For the Social Democrats, this is the worst result in 160 years - 13.9%. The Greens (Die Grüne), who form the ruling coalition with the Social Democrats, are next: their current 11.9% is 9% less than in the last election. Theаа third party in the current coalition in the Bundestag, the Free Democrats (FDP), garnered only 5.2%, losing to Putin's friends: the newly formed left-wing populist Sarah Wagenknecht Union (BSW), which calls for an end to all aid to Ukraine, garnered 6.2%. 

If you look at the results of the European Parliament elections on a map of Germany, you will notice the division along the former border of Germany and the GDR. 

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West Germany is almost entirely black, the color of the Christian Democrats, one of the political forces that make up the European People's Party. Its leader, Ursula von der Leyen, has every chance of remaining the head of the European Commission for another 5 years. The east is mostly blue, as the residents of the former GDR voted for the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany. Ukrainians who now live in Germany note that on local maps, the bluest areas (even in West Germany) are those inhabited by people from Russia. According to various estimates, there are between 2 and 5 million of them among the 84 million inhabitants of Germany.

Putin's American friend Elon Musk spoke out in defense of the AfD. On election day, the entrepreneur wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) that he did not consider the alternativeists to be extremists or even far-right. Musk is the largest employer in the German state of Brandenburg. It is here that his Tesla company is located, and it is here that the AfD won the European elections with a large margin. 

AfD leaders from left to right: Tino Hrupalla, Maximilian Krah and Alice Weidel. Photo: FAZ

High-profile election scandals did not shake the Alternative's leadership in eastern Germany. At the beginning of the year, a secret conference of Nazi organizations was held in Potsdam to discuss the mass deportation of all migrants and refugees from the country. The AfD also took part in the meeting. Afterward, a wave of rallies took place throughout Germany, with participants demanding that right-wing populists be banned, but they had no consequences.

In April, German prosecutors suspected that party leader Maximilian Krah and another party member, Petr Bystron, received money from Russia and China. One of Krah's aides, who is of Chinese descent, was arrested on suspicion of espionage. The politicians are under investigation. Krah has become toxic even to the far right: immediately after the election, newly elected AfD deputies excluded him from the party's list. 

AfD poster in East Berlin with the inscription: "Our country first"

Today, the AfD is forming the far-right political faction Identity and Democracy in the European Parliament, along with other European friends of the Kremlin. In particular, with the French National Rally (RN) under the leadership of the odious Marine Le Pen. The 31% that Putin's friend garnered against the 15% of the ruling Renaissance Party (RE) forced French President Macron to announce the dissolution of the country's parliament and early elections to the National Assembly. Other members of the far-right group did less well: the Italian League party with its pro-Russian leader Matteo Salvini lost 24% compared to the last election. But the Polish party Confederation (KWN) with anti-Ukrainian sentiments, improved its result from 4.5% to 12.1%. It is closely associated with the protests of Polish farmers and the blocking of the Ukrainian border. As a result, the far-right Identity and Democracy faction gains +9 new seats in the European Parliament in 2024-2029. 

The milder right-wing Conservatives and Reformers (EKR) faction is winning 4 more seats than in 2019. The most impressive success among the other parties in this grouping belongs to the nationalist Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, which gained 22%. The head of the Brothers, leader of the European Conservatives and Prime Minister of Italy, Georgia Meloni, has been a consistent advocate of supporting Ukraine and providing it with weapons against Russian aggression. 

It is likely that Meloni will now play the role of mediator between the far right, led by the unpredictable Marine Le Pen, and the center-right, led by Ursula von der Leyen. The Economist has already noted that these three women will shape the future of Europe. Obviously, the European Commission President's task will now be to sway the Italian prime minister closer to the center as opposed to the Russian lobby. V

on der Leyen and Maloni's anti-Putin sentiments unite them against Le Pen. The 55-year-old leader of the French populists was accused of having close ties to the Kremlin and receiving large amounts of money from Russian banks back in 2014. However, in 2024, Marine Le Pen suddenly condemned Russia's full-scale invasion. 

The good news for Ukraine is that the largest political forces remained in the majority in the European Parliament. These are the European People's Party, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, and the liberal-centered grouping called Restoration. All three political groups support Ukraine in the fight against Russian aggression. Another positive trend is observed in Hungary and Slovakia, where the pro-Putin parties of Viktor Orban and Robert Fico have lost some ground. 

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