Salvini’s League Gains in New EU Parliament Vote Projection
(Bloomberg) -- The European Parliament's biggest political alliance weakened further in the assembly's latest projection of election results in May, while the populist party of Italian Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini posted a larger gain.
The outlook released on Friday in Brussels broadly reinforces initial forecasts on Feb. 18 of the 705 seats to be held by national parties and their European Union umbrella groups in the EU Parliament after a May 23-26 ballot. The U.K., which is scheduled to leave the bloc at the end of March, is excluded.
The EU's Christian Democrats will remain the No. 1 faction in the European assembly with 181 seats, down from an initial projection of 184 and from a current total of 217, according to the new forecasts.
The Socialists are still seen as the No. 2 group with 135 seats, unchanged from the last projection and down from 186 in the current EU Parliament.
Salvini's League is projected to have 28 members, up from 27 in the previous forecast and from six currently. Still, the number of seats that will be held by the group to which the League belongs -- the Europe of Nations and Freedom -- remains unchanged from the last forecast at 59, up from 37 now.
| Read more: |
A rival populist group in the EU assembly is called Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy and includes the League's ruling coalition partner at home, the Five Star Movement of Italy's other deputy premier, Luigi Di Maio. The number of Five Star-affiliated EU lawmakers -- currently 14 -- is forecast to grow to 21, down from 22 in the previous projection, giving the faction a total of 39 seats compared with 41 at present.
Europe's Liberals continue to be seen as the No. 3 faction with 75 seats and as potential kingmakers in the formation of any pro-EU majority coalition. Their ranks could swell with the addition of French President Emmanuel Macron's Republic on the Move party, which is forecast to have 22 members, up from 18 in the previous projection.
The biggest national party in the next EU Parliament is still forecast to be the German Christian Democrats allied to Chancellor Angela Merkel. They're now projected to have 34 members, up from 29 in the previous projection and unchanged from their current total.
--With assistance from Zoe Schneeweiss.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Stearns in Brussels at jstearns2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Jonathan Stearns, Jones Hayden
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
-
Talking Points This Week: Tech Nerves, FII Buying, And A Faraway Banking Shock
The global markets are not shining this Diwali. The exception in the large markets is, India.
-
Midterm Rally Lasted A Day. The Hard Reality Of A Divided US May Last Two Years | Opinion
Between a contested AI boom, a debt ceiling that arrives in 2027 and a president with every incentive to act alone, the next two years may prove more volatile than the first day's rally suggests.
-
Blue Wave Will Derail the AI Trade but Won't Dismantle the AI Era | Unhedged Position
The Democrats' sweep of the US Congress will see politics collide with economic forces both over the long and short term.
-
It's Time To Take The GST Council's Bet On Trust Global
Payment records can prove India's services exports, and clear, proportionate rules can bring foreign digital sellers into the tax net.
-
Opinion | India at 38: From Innovation Overperformer to Innovation Powerhouse
India now has 453 VC-backed deep science startups, 18 of them late-stage, after 117 percent growth since 2020. Laurus Labs, at USD 9.3 billion, is the most valuable deep science company in any middle-income economy outside China.
-
Navigating Energy Crossroads: S Jaishankar's Call For Diversified Supply Chains At G20 Ministerial Meeting
As geopolitical fault lines continue to test maritime trade routes and commodity flows, Jaishankar's message remains pertinent: true economic resilience requires open markets, protected transit lines, and a genuine commitment to multilateral cooperation rather than coercion.
-
Indians Are Travelling, But Not Every Journey Is A Holiday | The Week In Whys
Pilgrims, patients and working women are the real travellers, and the system hasn't quite caught up with them.
-
Getting To Work Costs Women More | The Reason Why
It is not just about women paying more than men. It is about women paying much more in cities than in villages.
-
AI Bias In Investing Cannot Be Eliminated, But It Can Be Governed
Framing is a particularly important example as identical financial information presented in terms of gains rather than losses can lead an LLM to reach a different assessment.
