European Parliament election results – our experts react

European Parliament elections were held from 22 – 25 May. We asked a number of experts to comment on the results and what the elections mean for individual countries across Europe. The Front National is now an equal player across the whole of France, and no longer merely a ‘nuisance’ to the mainstream – Jocelyn Evans – University of Leeds Farage’s world is an authoritarian fantasy – Mary Evans – LSE Gender Institute The most interesting development in Germany is the ascendancy of the Eurosceptic Alternative für Deutschland– Kai Arzheimer – University of Mainz Despite the headlines about Euroscepticism, the voice of those worst affected by the crisis is now louder. Could it be that a more sanguine reading of these electoral results is warranted? – Iain Begg – LSE European Institute Unlike the other radical right-wing parties is Europe, the Golden Dawn has managed to attract voters from across the party system in Greece – Sofia Vasilopoulou, University of York, and Daphne Halikiopoulo, University of Reading The EP election results will clearly have great implications for the political landscape in Europe – Sara Hagemann – LSE European Institute What we are witnessing is, in a sense, a reconstitution of a form of class politics – Eric Shaw – University of Stirling The reverberations of the Ukraine crisis in the Latvian domestic political debate certainly did not help Harmony in its bid to attract the Latvian leftist vote – Licia Cianetti – University College London The European election in Spain confirms the recession of two-party politics and the advancement of left Eurocriticism – Juan Rodríguez-Teruel – University of Valencia The elections in Hungary were a symbol of the population’s continued disappointment with the inability of the liberal-left opposition forces to unite – Erin Marie Saltma