The Daily Signal - Why Results of EU Elections Are Likely to Make Biden ‘Nervous’

Episode Date: June 11, 2024

The European Union may have just taken a big step to the political right, and the Biden administration should take note, Nile Gardiner says.  “I think that the Biden White House is going to be very nervous, looking at the results in Europe, because European voters have overwhelmingly turned against a lot of the left-wing dogma and agenda, not only [that] Europe leads, but the same agenda that is pursued by the Biden administration,” says Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at The Heritage Foundation.  The European Parliament held elections Thursday through Sunday, in which millions of Europeans cast their ballots across 27 countries, and Europe’s conservatives won big.  “I would describe the election results over the weekend as nothing short of a political revolution within Europe—a firm rejection of socialist ruling elites,” says Gardiner, who prior to joining Heritage in 2002 was foreign policy researcher for former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. In response to this “political revolution,” French President Emmanuel Macron has called for snap legislative elections at the end of June and beginning of July. According to Gardiner, this is a very risky move for Macron, as he is giving the French electorate the chance to further embrace a conservative government.  Gardiner joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain the implications of the European elections on the U.S.  Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's in the interest of the United States to support a Europe that believes in national sovereignty, self-determination, strong borders. It's in America's interests for Europe to move in the direction it's moving right now. This is the Daily Signal podcast for Tuesday, June 11th. I'm Virginia Allen, and that was Niall Gardner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation. The European Union may have just taken a big step to the political right, and this may have significant implications not only for Europe, but also the United States, according to Gardner. As the political makeup of the EU is shifting, Gardner joins the show to explain what led to this moment and what's likely to happen next. Stay tuned for our conversation after this.

For over 35 years, the Heritage Foundation Job Bank has been helping conservatives at all professional levels, find employment in key positions in Washington, D.C. and across the country. We can help you connect with positions in the administration on Capitol Hill, in public policy organizations, and in the private sector. To learn more about the Heritage Foundation Job Bank, go to heritage.org slash job dash bank. Well, it is my privilege to welcome to the show today, and Nile Gardner. He serves as the director for the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation. Nile, lots of news to jump in today. Thank you so much for being here. It's my pleasure. Great to be here. Thank you. The European Parliament is the legislative body for

the European Union, and there are 720 seats in the European Parliament. And after 185 million votes were cast in Europe across 27 countries, Europe's conservatives won big. Nile, were conservatives expected to have so much success in this parliamentary election in Europe? Well, I think that the expectation in advance was that conservative parties would make significant gains, but the sheer scale of the victories that we've seen by, by partners on the right across Europe exceeded expectations. And I would describe the election results over the weekend as nothing short of a political revolution within Europe, a firm rejection of socialist ruling elites.

And I think that millions upon millions of European voters were saying that they wanted to have a voice in Europe, that they were against a lot of the policies being advanced by European leaders. And I think that in many respects, the overwhelming rejection of socialist policies in Europe is the shape of things to come, really, for the future of Europe. And I do think that we are looking at the rolling back of socialist big government power in Europe. And that's a very good thing for Europe.

It's a good thing for the United States as well to see that happening. And I'm excited to talk in just a moment a little bit about what this does mean for the United States. But what are Europeans embracing? What is the platform that the Conservative Party really advocates for in Europe? And by saying, yes, we want to elect leaders who represent that platform, what are European signaling this is what we want more of in Europe? Well, we have a very wide range of parties on the right in Europe. There is tremendous variation from country to country. But I think some common themes, emerged from these election results. Firstly, I think that European voters emphatically rejected mass migration, illegal migration, the open borders mindset that has been dominant in Europe for so many decades, and voters said enough is enough. They're concerned about rising crime. They're concerned about the Islamification of their

countries and huge issue. in countries such as France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, for example, Italy, concerns over large-scale migration from Islamic countries and the Islamification of Europe. And I do think the issue of migration was front and center in this election and probably the most important issue for European voters. I think secondly, the election results were a rejection of net zero policies, the far less environmental agenda, the green agenda, which many in Europe view as fundamentally destructive in terms of economic growth, in terms of job creation, and millions of

European voters view net zero policies as incredibly expensive at the expense of European people. I think that we saw the net zero elites being humbled in this election. So environmental issues very important, and European voters do not want to see the huge costs associated with net zero policies. I think thirdly, we saw a success for a wide range of Eurosceptic political parties across Europe, parties that believe that there should not be a federal Europe

many of these political parties believe there is too much power in Brussels some of the political parties in Europe believe that European government should follow the example of Brexit and should go down the path of restoring

sovereignty and self-determination Brexit I think has been a tremendous game changer for Europe the Brexit vote was 2016, but here we are in 2024, and the shockways from Brexit are still spreading across Europe in a major way, and that's a good thing, because Brexit is all about sovereignty, self-determination, taking power away from unelected elites. Brexit is fundamentally democratic, and I do think that we're seeing the rise of Eurosceptic parties who do not believe in the creation

of a federal Europe, who want to see power restored to nations. states. And so I think a rejection of European socialist elites was a big part of this vote over the weekend. There will now be over 180 conservatives in the European Parliament. How is that going to change the EU as a whole? Well, actually, there'll be several hundred conservative members of the European Parliament spread across multiple different political parties and also political groupings. And I do think this will result in a European Parliament that's going to push back a lot more against the centralized power of Brussels, pushing back against the European Commission, the executive branch of the EU. And this is a big.

a big positive. And in terms of what this means for the United States, I think that the Biden White House is going to be very nervous looking at the results in Europe because European voters have overwhelmingly turned against a lot of the left-wing dogma and agenda, not only of European leads, but the same agenda that is presented,

pursued by the Biden administration here in the United States. You've seen over 10 million illegal migrants cross the U.S. border under the Biden presidency. You've seen the Biden administration advancing an extreme left-wing environmentalist agenda, which is hugely costly to the U.S. economy. And European electorates have rejected this agenda. I think also in Europe as well, millions of voters have rejected far-left woke ideology that left-wing elites have pushed in Europe for the last couple of decades. And so all of this actually bodes very badly, I think, for the Biden presidency, because European voters have the same issues, the same concerns that American voters have. and voters across Europe have said a firm no to woke left-wing ideology. And they are calling for strong border controls.

They are calling for the restoration of national sovereignty. They are calling for an agenda that is culturally conservative. And all of this, I think, is problematic. for the left wing Biden administration. And I imagine a lot of the Biden advisors around the president are nervous, horrified by what's happening. And that's a very good thing, isn't it, really? And it's a good thing when European voters turn against far left domination. And American voters, of course, have exactly the same concerns about what is the moment.

most left-wing presidency in American history that is causing immense damage to the United States at home and abroad. And so what happens in Europe, I think, will have an impact in the United States. What happens in Europe matters. And the developments across the Atlantic should be closely watched here in the U.S. Well, we've seen that play out time and time again on various issues that often Europe four ways into something and then the United States follows. So it's going to be fascinating to see how this does play out in America, specifically what cues the Biden administration takes from this. Now, before we let you go, I do want to get your thoughts on France's response, French President Emmanuel Macron, in response to this election, made an announcement that he's going

to hold snap parliamentary elections in France. Is this common? Explain what's going on here. It's a very rare move, actually, by the French president. This has only happened on a few occasions in French, history where Parliament has been dissolved. It's a very dangerous move, of course, for Macron. He was absolutely humiliated in these elections. His party received only around 14 to 15% of the vote, and they were absolutely trounced by right-wing French parties. And so I think that this is a huge gamble by the French president, because

parliamentary elections in France could deliver a resounding victory for the opposition national rally party, who made huge inroads in the European parliamentary elections. They pulled in over 30% of the vote. And Emmanuel Macron could end up potentially as a lame duck president ahead of the next presidential elections in France, which are actually in 2027. So a high risk move by Emmanuel Macron. This is a president who's in real trouble. He is one of the most unpopular presidents in French history. And the French people are very, very upset on multiple fronts. Everything from soaring mass migration to rising crime, unrest in French cities, social disorder.

This is a country in real crisis in so many respects. and at the ballot box last week, French voters said they had enough of Emmanuel Macron. So let's see what happens with the parliamentary elections that are coming up at the end of June and also into July. And we'll see whether Macron ends up as a lame duck president. There's a strong possibility of that. But yet he seemed to feel that it was worth the risk. Yeah, you know, for some reason, Macron felt emboldened to hold a parliamentary election. I think it could be disastrous for him.

We'll have to see what the French voters decide, but Macron is an incredibly unpopular figure in France. And I think that French voters are angry, and many want to see him out of office. So the parliamentary elections probably will not go very well for him. Now, any final thoughts on issues that Americans should be aware of as we continue to see the fallout from this election in the EU. Yeah, that's a great question.

In my view, it's in the interest of the United States to support a Europe that believes in national sovereignty, self-determination, strong borders. It's in America's interests for Europe to move in the direction it's moving right now. And I think that the American people should welcome the results in Europe this past weekend. These are positive results for the United States.

And it's a demonstration of the fact that European voters are in many respects, actually like their American counterparts. And they don't believe in being ruled by far left-wing elites. They've had enough, and they've spoken out at the ballot box over the last few days. and I think what we're seeing in Europe should be greatly welcomed here in the United States as a very positive development moving forward. Heritage Foundation's Niall God, Nail, thank you for your time. We greatly appreciate it.

It's a great pleasure. Many thanks. And with that, that's going to do it for today's episode. Thanks so much for joining us here on the Daily Signal podcast. Be sure to check out our top news edition of the Daily Signal podcast around 5 p.m. today where we bring you the top news of the day. These are the headlines that you don't want to miss. miss to stay informed on what's happening in our world. And be sure to hit that subscribe button so you

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