On Sunday evening, shortly after the polls for the European Parliament elections closed, a triumphant Matteo Salvini, Italy’s interior minister, entered the press room of his far-right Lega party’s headquarters in Milan. His party had won big at the elections – receiving 34.33% of the votes cast and sending 28 MEPs to Brussels.
Salvini held a rosary and kissed a small crucifix, thanking the “Immaculate Heart of Mary” (as he did during campaign rallies). Announcing it is time to “save Europe” and “its Judeo-Christian roots”, he pointed to the victories of Marine Le Pen in France and Nigel Farage in the UK, saying: “It is a sign of a Europe that has changed”.
Across the European Union, 50.5% of registered voters participated in the 26 May elections – the highest rate in 20 years, and the first significant increase since 1979. Many commentators responded to the results with a measure of optimism: the populist far-right did not conquer the European Parliament, as they had campaigned to.
