Elections

Georgia’s 2024 parliamentary elections signal the country’s descent into hegemonic authoritarianism. The ruling Georgian Dream party won by engaging in election manipulation, adopting the classical illiberal-authoritarian playbook, spreading disinformation about simultaneously remaining on the EU enlargement track and instrumentalizing Russia’s threat to the country. If the government stays in power despite these violations, Georgia’s relationship with the EU will further deteriorate.

As American voters have become more firmly entrenched in their party affiliations, fewer and fewer states are in contention and the margins of victory are increasingly slim. This year, polls suggest that in the handful of swing states that will determine the race, the winner could be decided by a razor-thin margin. Votes for third party candidates could be enough to tip the election – most likely, in favor of Donald Trump. 

How do the results affect the work of the newly elected European Parliament? What are the opportunities and risks? What are the key priorities for the Greens/EFA? What challenges can be identified with regard to the composition and agenda of the new European Commission? What impact did the election have in individual member states, particularly in Germany, France and Poland? With: Terry Reintke, lead candidate of the European Green Party and Bündnis 90/Die Grünen; Co-Chair of the Greens/EFA Group; Roderick Kefferpütz, Director, EU office, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Brussels; Marc Berthold, Director, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Paris; Joanna Maria Stolarek, Director, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Warsaw. Moderation:  Eva van de Rakt, Head of European Union and North America Division, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, Berlin.

With fresh language and contagious good cheer, US presidential candidate Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party are generating new enthusiasm for their policies. Could that also catch on here in Germany? One thing is clear: without a positive atmosphere, democratic politics in the country will face an uphill battle.

No consistent picture has emerged yet as to how Kamala Harris would shape her foreign policy if she ends up being the next US president. Her time as Vice President gives at least some hints on how she might deal with China, the war in Ukraine, and policy in the Middle East.

The far-right Rassemblement National has surprisingly suffered a defeat in the French snap parliamentary elections - there is great relief in the country itself and also in the EU. However, forming a government could be complicated and take time, with France facing a phase of political paralysis. Marc Berthold, Director of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung's office in Paris, explains in this interview which constellations are possible and to what extent France's position in the EU could change.

The European election brought dissapointment to almost everyone in Athens, except to the far Right and the far Left. Yet, the most striking result was the collapse of the vote for the governing New Democracy – 10% of the registered electorate, one million people, abandoned Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ party in one year. What are the reasons for that? And why did the parties of the opposition not do better? An analysis by Pavlos Eleftheriadis, Professor of Legal Studies at NYU Abu Dhabi and a Senior Research Fellow at Mansfield College Oxford.

2019 was an extraordinary election year for the European Green Party, and it was clear from the beginning of the 2024 campaign that it would be tough to match it again this year. While the Greens lost seats overall, most of the losses were concentrated in Germany and Western Europe, while the bloc was able to pick up new seats in the South and East.

On 4 June, India concluded its 18th national parliamentary election. Almost one billion voters were asked to cast their vote in a six-week long election that by most observers was expected to become another win for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP did not disappoint. On 9 June, Narendra Modi took his oath of office for the third time. Yet, the cards were reshuffled.