AFP, BRUSSELSEuropeans yesterday headed to the polls in their tens of millions as 21 countries chose their champions in a battle between the nationalist right and pro-EU forces to chart a course for the union. Seven EU member states had already voted, but no official results could be published until the rest had taken part. The far-right parties of Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and France’s Marine Le Pen would lead this charge, and anti-EU ranks would be swelled by the Brexit Party of British populist Nigel Farage. Turnout is likely to be closely scrutinized in case another drop in participation undermines the credibility of the EU parliament as it seeks to establish its authority. The S&D’s center-right rival, the European People’s Party, was buoyed by exit polls suggesting that Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar’s pro-EU Fine Gael party was in the lead.

Source: Taipei Times May 26, 2019 15:56 UTC