Party-Dynamics in the 2024 European Parliament Elections: How the European People's Party Came to Claim the Centre of Power

Although European Parliament elections usually lead to relatively minor shifts between party-groups at the aggregate level, these shifts can have far-ranging consequences for the distribution of power in the European Union. The European elections of 2024 resulted in a loss for the Liberals, the Social-Democrats, and the Greens. The radical right gained seats, and it engaged in a process of group reconfiguration, in which the former Identity and Democracy group was succeeded by two new groups. In the end, however, it was the European People’s Party that was able to gain most advantage from the election outcome as it reinforced its position at the centre of power and claimed key positions in the Parliament and the Commission. This article analyses the interplay between the EU party-groups over the course of 2024, from the election campaign to the approval of the new Commission. It focusses in particular on unpacking the dynamics within and between the party-groups and on the ways in which the elections interacted with the question of the leadership of the European Commission, including the role of the lead candidates in the campaign, the election of the Commission President, and the approval of the eventual College of Commissioners.