Four of the five largest EU member states will hold national elections within the next 12 months, a sequence that could push the bloc decisively to the right. Spain, France, Italy and Poland are among the countries heading to the polls, with far-right or nationalist populist parties poised to gain power in several of them.
In Spain, Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called a snap election for next month after opposition parties blocked his housing reform package. Polls currently favor a conservative-far-right coalition, which could shift the country’s political direction. France, Italy and Poland are also scheduled to vote in the coming year, with far-right or nationalist parties either in power, as in Italy, or positioned to return or win for the first time, as in France and Poland.
The potential rightward shift follows a broader trend in Europe, where far-right parties have entered coalitions in multiple countries, often uniting around anti-climate and anti-migration platforms. While this movement has slowed European integration, its policy effects have not yet matched the rapid changes seen in other regions, such as the U.S. under former President Donald Trump. Recent elections in the Netherlands and Hungary, however, have shown mixed results, with far-right parties losing ground in some cases.
The upcoming votes could reshape the EU’s political landscape, with center-right and far-right groups potentially forming a majority in the European Parliament. This alignment may accelerate a shift in the bloc’s priorities, particularly on issues like migration and climate policy.
