June 2024.
As part of the program Regional Initiative to Combat Disinformation “Western Balkans Anti-Disinformation Hub: Exposing Malign Influences through Watchdog Journalism”, we present you a new monthly analyses of fake news and disinformation narratives.
The favoritism of Serbian media towards right-wing movements in the European elections
The tenth direct elections for the European Parliament were held between June 6 and 9, 2024. Over 370 million citizens of EU member states had the right to vote in the largest European elections. Considering the complex geopolitical relations in which they took place, as well as taking into account the internal economic and social challenges, this year’s European elections attracted considerable attention. The turnout was over 50% for the second time in a row, which is relatively high for European elections.
The results suggest a general shift to the right. European party groups that occupy positions of the right or extreme right, more radical and Eurosceptic, and which were the focus of the reporting of most European media, achieved a certain growth and increased the number of mandates in the future gathering of the Parliament. In addition, the traditional pro-European parties of the centre-right, part of the European People’s Party family, recorded gains and consolidated the position of the largest grouping in the European Parliament.
The current informal “ruling coalition” consisting of the populists and the social democratic group, with the support of the liberal-centrist coalition, will retain a stable majority in the Parliament. Still, the key actor with the greatest influence, without whom it will not be possible to secure a majority, will be the centre-right European People’s Party, whose representatives are also predominant in other European institutions.
The June elections for the European Parliament also produced significant political effects in national arenas. First of all, this is the case in the two largest European countries – France and Germany – where the rise of right-wing parties was most pronounced, and a visible sharp drop in support for the current governing options in the middle period of their mandates, as a result of which the European elections acted as a kind of “non-binding referendum” about the current French and German authorities.
Domestic pro-government and pro-Russian media in Serbia actively reported on the elections for the European Parliament while promoting anti-Western narratives about the defeat of the ruling European establishment and the (inevitable) rise of the (extreme) right to power and consideration of changes in European foreign policy that the rise of the right can bring.
“The right is conquering Europe,” a new era in Europe – How did the domestic media report on the European Parliament elections?
The leading pro-government and pro-Russian media in Serbia covered the European elections with a noticeable preference for the options of the (extreme) right in Europe and their pre-election platform messages. The most influential pro-government tabloid, Informer, announced “colossal changes after the EU elections,” commenting that “voters have turned their backs on parties that advocate an aggressive policy towards Russia.” The portal Alo also discussed potential foreign policy effects, speculating about “a major upheaval” in European policy towards Russia and Ukraine, when “political forces (of the right) gained more power” after the European elections.
Alo, which frequently addressed the European elections, published a series of news items and analyses, the headlines of which illustrate the broader trend in domestic pro-government media reporting on these topics – “the rise of the right has shaken the foundations of the EU”, “the right wins the European Parliament… radical change in the future of the EU“, “a new era in Europe”, “the extreme right has won”, “the debacle (of ruling parties) in the EP elections”. The media portal of the same name assessed that “the debacle (of political options) of the centre and the left caused a storm in European countries.”
Republika, the web edition of the influential tabloid Serbian Telegraf, specifically focused on the results of the European elections in certain European countries, such as France. “Bringing Macron to his knees” was the title of an article by Republika, which covered the “historic” victory of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally in the European elections in France, while relaying statements about the readiness to take power and radically change the situation in France.
In a similar tone, Srbin.info also reported on “a heavy blow – the collapse of the leading leaders of the European Union,” emphasizing that politicians like Macron and Scholz “lost their legitimacy.” The same portal continuously claimed that “the patriots defeated the liberals and greens… shifting the political landscape to the right and dealing a blow to the leaders,” while also noting that “we see the growth of right-wing forces that do not want to support Ukraine… sensible EU politicians see this as the suicide of Europe and want to correct the situation.”
The pro-Russian media in Serbia, from their perspective, almost simultaneously promoted the interpretation of the European election results that aligns with previously established narratives about the division between the European elite and (populist) parties advocating a change in “globalist and anti-Russian policies.” Sputnik Serbia wrote that “the wave of anti-Macronism is sweeping across Europe,” and that “the citizens of the European Union have said that they want some kind of change… and Eurosceptics, if they could unite… they would represent the largest grouping in the European Parliament,” with the author suggesting that the coalition of the “Sorosoid mainstream” is the biggest loser of the European elections.
Statements by Eurosceptic leaders, such as Viktor Orbán, were prominently reported, emphasizing that “based on the election results, the train that was leading Europe to a new war was slowed down… supporters of peace won with enormous strength and a large number of votes,” and highlighting claims such as “a real political earthquake occurred in France, which most resolutely advocated for war.” The title of the Serbian service of the Russian Sputnik, in the context of analyzing the outcome of the European Parliament elections, is also illustrative, emphasizing that “Scholz and Macron (more) don’t even control their own countries.”
Another domestic portal of the Russian state media – Russia Today (RT) – also extensively covered the European elections and the rise of Eurosceptic right-wing forces, which are “close on the heels of pro-European powers,” according to one of the articles from the media outlet. “It is not yet certain whether Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz will indeed end up in the dustbin of history after the European Parliament elections… but it is more than evident that the people do not support their policies and that something will have to change in France and Germany,” writes RT, noting that “the engines of the European Union have stalled.”
The interlocutors of the Russia Today portal observed that the European Parliament elections demonstrated that Europeans want changes in certain EU policies, with this being most evident in France, where the radical right party led by Marine Le Pen achieved the best result. Le Pen emphasizes, as reported by RT, that “the EU proves every day how toxic it is… and it does not benefit our economies and countries.”
In the context of considering the potential foreign policy effects of the European elections under the influence of the “rise of European sovereignists,” as RT puts it, the portal believes that peace-oriented parties will emerge in the European political environment, in contrast to the war-mongering anti-Russian rhetoric that dominates. RT authors point out that many voters are disturbed by geopolitical tensions, and that right-wing parties offer an alternative, suggesting that “the secret of their success lies in the fact that they oppose the escalation of conflict… because Europe’s security cannot be imagined without Russia.”
Although domestic pro-government and pro-Russian media have exaggeratedly and biasedly reported on the dramatic rise of (radical and Eurosceptic) right-wing forces in Europe and their impact on changing European policies, the fact remains that the results for these options, overall, fell below expectations and most pre-election forecasts.
Additionally, in the future composition of the European Parliament, Eurosceptic right-wing parties will not establish closer cooperation or form a united (mega)group but will be divided into (at least) three factions, none of which will be in a position to act as a blocking minority against the traditional majority of pro-European centrists, social democrats, or liberals. Given that the leaders of these right-wing parties are not represented in other European institutions and decision-making bodies, and that, with a few exceptions, they are not part of the government in their own countries, their overall impact on EU policies, particularly the established firm foreign policy regarding the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, will be very limited.
Furthermore, when considering the results of the European Parliament elections, it is important to take into account significant variations among member states, as well as differences in the national context and issues that marked the elections in different countries. Given the secondary nature of European elections and comparatively lower voter turnout, they often provide an opportunity for citizens to express dissatisfaction with their national governments by supporting parties they would not typically vote for in national parliamentary elections.
The situation in France is particularly illustrative, where, following the victory of the National Rally in the European elections, snap parliamentary elections were called. In these elections, with a significantly higher turnout and electoral cooperation of the left and centre – the so-called strategy of the Republican front against the extreme right – this party, despite receiving the highest number of votes individually, ended up in third place. This outcome questioned the narrative of the inevitable rise of the right to power in France, although the further process of forming a government will be complex, lengthy, and require compromises.
Author: Igor Mirosavljević
