How can Europe’s progressives fight back? A coalition of losers is now their best hope | Paul Taylor

Far-right gains have left liberals and Greens reeling - but despite differences, their interest lies in banding together

For Europe's centre-left, it was the night from hell. Liberals and Greens took a beating in many countries and lost dozens of seats as nationalist and Eurosceptic parties grabbed nearly a quarter of the seats in the European parliament. The centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D) slipped just below their existing total thanks to unexpectedly strong scores in Italy and Spain.

Worse still, France, the EU's pivotal power, saw the biggest far-right gains. That prompted President Emmanuel Macron to call a high-risk snap election that could clear the way for Marine Le Pen's anti-immigration National Rally to sweep into government within a month.

Paul Taylor is a senior visiting fellow at the European Policy Centre