SA's Wall Street Breakfast: Election Season

Seeking Alpha’s Wall Street Breakfast is now out:

The first Wall Street Breakfast edition of 2024 was called the Year Of The Election, and things are rapidly changing across the globe as investors edge closer to the middle of the year. Some recent political shake-ups have been seen in India, South Africa and Mexico, while things are starting to shift in Europe as well. U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called a general election for July 4, while results are still being digested from the European Parliament elections over the weekend.

How it works: European parties are basically big tent movements, with national parties from the 27 EU member states teaming up to form seven major European political groups with representation based on population. It’s a big deal as the 720 lawmakers in the European Parliament approve the union’s budget, negotiate EU laws, and approve the President of the European Commission in a vote that will take place on July 8 (after all, it is the year of the election). The remaining 27 commissioners are chosen by their respective countries under the European Council, which sets the bloc’s political agenda, and will be approved by yet another vote in parliament on Dec. 19.

The biggest gainers from the last election were the EPP, which will be the largest party in the parliament with a projected 189 seats, as well as the Identity and Democracy group, which are known for their nationalism and euroskepticism (and would’ve seen even bigger gains if Germany’s AfD wasn’t kicked out of the party several weeks ago). The biggest losers were the Greens, which champion environmental and climate protections, as well as Renew Europe, which is known for its pro-European and liberal stance. Looking at things on the political spectrum, the EU as a whole shifted more to the center-right, conservatives, and even the far-right, which can bring a major shift to the bloc…

The full post is here.

You may also want to read this: “Europe’s night of election drama capped by Macron bombshell“.