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Monday, May 26, 2014

An 'Earthquake' Hits EU Elections

Across Europe today, elections are being held for the European Parliament in Brussels. The European Parliament is a continent-wide body with representation from each EU country.

It appears to be a big day for right-wing parties and radical parties in general.

In France, the National Front, the anti-EU party of Marine Le Pen, appears to have won about 25% of the vote, handily defeating all other parties.

Ominously, for the future of the EU, the party performed particularly strongly among the youth.

The AP reported that French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said was "more than a news alert...It is a shock, an earthquake." 

Meanwhile, according to reports, the anti-EU UKIP party was won in the U.K.

France and the U.K. aren't the only source of strong showing for the right. In Poland, the politician Janus Korwin-Mikke, who has reportedly expressed skepticism about the nature of the Holocaust, will be sent to the European Parliament.

In Greece, the big winner appears to be, not a rightist party, but SYRIZA, the far left party that surged to prominence in the 2012 election.

Ultimately, Euroskeptics will only hold an estimated 130 of the 751 European Parliament seats. Bottom line though, is that in the first EU-wide vote since the Eurozone crisis ended, the level of anger towards the mainstream remains quite high.

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READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.businessinsider.com