Preliminary European Election Roundup

As I write this, exit-poll reports on the EU elections are coming in from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, and Sweden. Early results indicate that the mood in Europe has definitely swung towards the right, especially on immigration and fiscal issues.

According to the AP:

Europe Leans Right as Voters Choose EU Parliament

BRUSSELS (AP) — Europe was leaning to the right Sunday as tens of millions of people voted in European Parliament elections, with conservative parties favored in many countries amid a global economic crisis.

Opinion polls showed right-leaning governments edging the opposition in Germany, Italy, France, Belgium and elsewhere. Conservative opposition parties were tied or ahead in Britain, Spain and some smaller countries.

Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands and five other EU nations cast ballots in the last three days, while the rest of the 27-nation bloc voted Sunday. Results for most countries were expected later in the day.

[...]

With most votes counted in Austria, the main rightist party was gaining strongly while the Social Democrats, the main party in the governing coalition, lost substantial ground.

The big winner was the rightist Freedom Party, which more than doubled its strength over the 2004 elections to 13 percent of the vote. It campaigned on an anti-Islam platform, with posters proclaiming “The Occident in Christian hands” and describing Sunday as “the day of reckoning.”

Our Flemish correspondent VH has compiled a report on the results of Thursday’s vote in the Netherlands. First, his translation of an article from De Telegraaf:

It’s official: PVV has won four seats.

The PVV [Geert Wilders’ party] almost have had the chance to gain one more seat, and then among others, Lucas Hartong, a columnist for HetVrijeVolk.com, would have joined the PVV team in Brussels. But now all votes have been counted, the preliminary result is official. The PVV has four seats in the EU parliament.

From De Standaard:

Flip Dewinter congratulates Geert Wilders on his victory

[…] To Dewinter it is clear that the struggle of Geert Wilders for free speech and against the Islamization of the Netherlands has been rewarded by the Dutch people with a resounding election victory.

Wilders is “a courageous man who rows against the tide and says aloud what the Dutch people think in quiet,” Dewinter said “Despite the threats and the attempts to undermine his party, Wilders resists and goes in opposition to the politically correct thinking and the multi-culture. A well deserved victory for Geert Wilders and the PVV.”

VH wrote the following compilation on Friday, before Ireland and the Czech Republic went to the polls:
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Today the people of Ireland will vote. The government of Brian Cowen, Fianna Fáil in a coalition with the Greens today also faces national elections. The election count will only start Sunday evening. The second-chance-to-say-yes Lisbon Treaty referendum will be held in the autumn. Election coverage here.

Even though Ireland still has relatively few Muslims (ca. 1% to 2%), it is not free of the Islamic craze. “It would seem that no Western European country is free from the possibility of becoming predominantly Muslim by mid-century, if not by conquest, then by simple demographics,” Greg Strange wrote on Blogger News Network, “…and even the Emerald Island of Ireland is vulnerable, at least according to one Islamic extremist who recently spoke in Dublin. […] Ireland is risking becoming target for a 9/11 style attack because it allowed US war planes to refuel at Shannon Airport. Mr Choudray said: ‘As a Muslim, I believe Islam is superior to every other way of life and that it can resolve all the social and economic problems that Ireland suffers from. […] And as a symbol of that, the flag of Islam should be flown over the Dáil [parliament].’”
In April this year, Dermot Ahern (Fianna Fáil Minister for Justice) proposed a tighter blasphemy law. Jason O’Mahony wonders: “Is a vote for the Green Party a vote to ban ‘Life of Brian’ and ‘Family Guy’? No, I’m not taking the piss. If Green Party TDs and Senators vote to pass the defamation bill, it will allow religious fundamentalists of all persuasions to demand censorship of things THEY find offensive, on pain of a €100,000 fine if convicted. The Life of Brian, Father Ted, South Park, all could be bullied off the shelves and TV channels by a vocal religious minority.“

The Irish Times commented: “It is […] the height of folly to propose that there is a constitutional imperative to bring in bad laws for which there has been no substantial public demand.”

Blogger Mark Humphrys, grandson of one of the members of the first Dail (parliament) in Ireland, wrote that he would have voted Fianna Fáil until the blasphemy law, that is, and calls to vote Fine Gael (they are better in Israel and will never offend our western democratic allies) or Libertas for instance. His interesting considerations can be read here.

In the Czech Republic the elections are also held today (Friday) and are in the focus of national developments: the center-right government of Mirek Topolanek resigned only recently.

Saturday it will be the turn of the peoples of Cyprus, Italy, Latvia and Malta (and for the second day in the Czech Republic).

Sunday it will be the turn of the peoples of Flanders and Wallonia (known by Eurocrats as “Belgium”) and Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Sweden.

Only after the last election in the European tower of Babel will the British and Irish announce their election results (Sunday night/Monday morning). It is expected that the Gordon Brown government will be severed.

The BNP reports today that “the BNP vote has grown dramatically in most regions. This bodes well for the full European election results which will only be announced in the early hours of Monday morning.” They also state that “is clear that the Labour vote has collapsed completely.” The BNP has beaten Labour “in ten East Midlands region local elections” and “beaten the Lib-Dems in four East Midlands region local elections”.

Commenter Forst Crusader writes: “Considering the vile lies and sustained attack upon the party by the media and other Gestapo style suppression of the truth and democracy in this country, the BNP have done exceptionally well.” NoShariaHere says: “Superb results, especially considering the might of the massive mainstream media anti BNP propaganda machine that would make Stalin proud, directed at us, seems like some of the former LibLabCon voting lemmings are slowly waking up. Don’t forget that the PC Politburo has vastly more funds and backing than the BNP….for now!!!”

The Dutch were premature in revealing their votes on Friday, but later this evening all the rest of the results will start coming in. By tomorrow the extent of the rightward shift will be known.

Steen tells me that the Danish People’s Party is showing a shift of +8.7% in exit polls.


Hat tip for the AP story: Steen.