Victory for Marine Le Pen’s National Rally follows surge in support for populist parties, while Ursula von der Leyen says the ‘centre is holding’
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Preliminary results show that hard-right parties finished first in France, Italy and Austria and came second in Germany and the Netherlands, although centrist mainstream parties will probably keep an overall majority in the European parliament.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, whose centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) scored top place in the EU parliament, said she would “build a bastion against the extremes from the left and from the right.”
There remains a majority in the centre for a strong Europe and that is crucial for stability. In other words the centre is holding.”