First EU elections poll shows surge for far-right, but center-right still dominant

Centre-right parties are expected to again come out in front from the European Union parliamentary elections due to be held between 23-26 May, but the Continent's far-right parties will make fresh inroads, according to the results of a survey.

According to the poll conducted by the parliament, the European People’s Party (EPP), to which Merkel’s German Christian Democrat party belongs, should take 183 of the 705 seats that are up fro grabs, or 26% of the new chamber, with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party remaining the single biggest party with 29 seats.

But Italy’s far right League party was seen nipping at its heels with 27 seats and the two far-right eurosceptic groups were seen pushing their combined share of the representation in the assembly from 10% to 14%.

Parliament’s chief spokesman Jaume Duch said this will be the “most important EU election since the first”, held in 1979.

The Socialists and Democrats of the center-left were seen holding onto 135 seats, sending their share of power down by six points to 19%, in part due to the UK's exit from the block .

Brexit is also an issue to consider in the election forecasts since an extension of Article 50 could push the Brexit date close to or even beyond the European elections, which would require the country to participate in the vote, possibly impacting on the process of choosing the next head of the European Commission, the EU's executive arm.

As analysts at Deutsche Bank put it: "If the UK is still an EU member at the beginning of the 2019-2024 parliamentary term on July 2, the legitimacy of the new European Parliament could be challenged if the UK refuses to hold elections.

"But even if it does (temporarily) send and later withdraw elected representatives, upcoming decisions such as the co-election of the next Commission President could be affected."