By Al Jazeera English
The European parliament appeared set for a shift to the right after voters turned away from leftist parties in elections for the 736-member assembly.
Early results and exit polls on Sunday showed conservative parties and the far-right making gains in many of the 27 nations at the expense of left-leaning parties.
Graham Watson, the leader of the centre-right Liberal Democrat grouping in the parliament, said early results suggested a rejection of the Socialist approach.
"People don't want a return to socialism and that's why the majority here will be a centre-right majority," he said.
The citizens of 19 nations went to the polls on Sunday, after the other eight EU nations had voted in the huge transnational election earlier in the week.
But the election was marked by voter apathy, with just 43.01 per cent of the 375 million eligible voters casting their ballots compared with 45.47 per cent at the last election in 2004, according to a survey by TNS-Opinion pollsters.
Conservative success
In Germany, the conservatives of Angela Merkel, the Chancellor, seemed likely to emerge as the largest party group, raising hopes that they will be able to dispense with the left-right "grand coalition" after a general election in four months....(Click for remainder.)
The European parliament appeared set for a shift to the right after voters turned away from leftist parties in elections for the 736-member assembly.Early results and exit polls on Sunday showed conservative parties and the far-right making gains in many of the 27 nations at the expense of left-leaning parties.
Graham Watson, the leader of the centre-right Liberal Democrat grouping in the parliament, said early results suggested a rejection of the Socialist approach.
"People don't want a return to socialism and that's why the majority here will be a centre-right majority," he said.
The citizens of 19 nations went to the polls on Sunday, after the other eight EU nations had voted in the huge transnational election earlier in the week.
But the election was marked by voter apathy, with just 43.01 per cent of the 375 million eligible voters casting their ballots compared with 45.47 per cent at the last election in 2004, according to a survey by TNS-Opinion pollsters.
Conservative success
In Germany, the conservatives of Angela Merkel, the Chancellor, seemed likely to emerge as the largest party group, raising hopes that they will be able to dispense with the left-right "grand coalition" after a general election in four months....(Click for remainder.)
