EU Elections: Belgian PM Alexander De Croo resigns after his party suffers massive defeat

BRUSSELS, Belgium: Alexander De Croo, the prime minister of Belgium, has resigned following his party’s crushing loss in Sunday’s national and European parliamentary elections, according to CNN.

The 48-year-old found difficult to hold back tears while making the announcement in Brussels on Sunday night.

“I was the figurehead of this campaign. This is not the result I had hoped for, and I therefore take responsibility for this result, it was not meant to be,” de Croo told media.

“As of tomorrow, I will be resigning as prime minister and I will fully concentrate on current affairs,” he said, according to CNN.

Citing RTBF polling, CNN reported De Croo’s Open VLD party did not fare well in the European Parliament, receiving only 5.8 per cent of the vote.

The RTBF poll showed that the far-right Vlaams Belang party and the Flemish nationalist N-VA party were tied for the same percentage of the vote, 14.8 per cent and 14.2 per cent, respectively, the CNN report added.

In his resignation address, De Croo emphasised his continued belief that Belgium “needs a new government with full powers that can take on its tasks” and pledged to facilitate a “proper transfer” of power to his successor.

Meanwhile, voting across the European Union’s 27 member states has now closed. The last votes were cast in Italy, according to CNN.

The EU elections represent the world’s second-largest democratic exercise, trailing only behind India’s elections in terms of scale.

With almost 400 million voters across the EU, the electorate will select 720 members of the European Parliament, spanning from the Arctic Circle to the borders of Africa and Asia.

The outcome of these elections will shape policies on global issues ranging from climate change and defence to migration and international relations with major players like China and the United States.

Since the last European elections in 2019, geopolitical dynamics have shifted significantly.

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has brought conflict to the fringes of the EU, underscoring the importance of the union’s role in maintaining peace and stability in the region. Ukraine, aspiring to join the EU, further underscores the geopolitical complexities at play.

-ANI