February 19, 2025

A weekly review of news and analysis of elections in Europe, usually posted on Wednesdays and occasionally updated throughout the week.

The town of Brilon, Germany, hometown of Friedrich Merz, leader of the Christian Democratic Union and frontrunner to become chancellor following snap elections on February 23. Photo credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brilon#/media/File:Brilon_Market_Place01.jpg (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Upcoming Europe Elections

Germany Snap Federal Parliamentary Elections: February 23, 2025

RFI (February 17, 2025): Failing economy, rising far right and Ukraine war define Germany’s divisive elections

AFP (February 17, 2025): US tensions add fire to final stretch of German election campaign

Adam Boulton, Sky News (February 16, 2025): German elections are usually dull affairs – but it’s different this time

AFP (February 15, 2025): German election favourite Merz sets out foreign policy plans

AP (February 12, 2025): Germany extends border controls by 6 months as election rivals focus on migration ahead of poll

Romania Presidential Election Re-Run: May 4, 2025 (runoff May 18 if needed)

Euractiv (February 13, 2025): What a supermarket boycott has to do with the Romanian election

AP (February 12, 2025): Romania’s Iohannis steps down, leaving caretaker president in charge until election rerun in spring

Albania Parliamentary Elections: May 11, 2025

Fjori Sinoruka, Balkan Insight (February 14, 2025): Mayor’s Arrest Deals Albania’s Ruling Party a Pre-Election Blow

Italy, Local Elections and Regional Elections in Apulia, Campania, Marche, Tuscany, Val d’Aosta, and Venice: September 2025 (due)

Alessia Peretti, Euractiv (February 13, 2025): Separatist sentiment on the rise in Italy’s majority German-speaking province: The separatist Süd-Tiroler Freiheit party, which has been climbing the polls, put out a campaign poster showing a pair of feet on a morgue table with a sign reading: “The doctor didn’t know German”.

Past Europe Elections

Greece Indirect Presidential Election (by parliament): Concluded February 12, 2025 (after four rounds of voting)

Eleni Stamatoukou, Balkan Insight (February 12, 2025): Greece Elects New President Despite MPs’ Walkout Over Train Crash

AP (February 12, 2025): Greece’s new president is a leading advocate of bringing home the Parthenon sculptures from Britain

Kosovo Parliamentary Elections: February 9, 2025

Memaga Caglič, EU Balkan News (February 13, 2025): Kosovo Elections: A New Era of Political Uncertainty

Charles Kupchan and Thanos Davelis, Kathimerini (February 13, 2025 – podcast): Kosovo’s election and the stakes for the Western Balkans

Croatia Presidential Runoff: January 12, 2025

Borislav Visnjic, Balkan Insight (February 18, 2025): Zoran Milanovic Inaugurated for Second Term as Croatia’s President

Austria Parliamentary Elections: September 29, 2024

Tamsin Paternoster, Euronews (February 13, 2025): Far-right Kickl demands fresh elections after Austrian coalition talks fail

Francois Murphy, Reuters (February 12, 2025): Attempt to form Austria’s first government led by far right collapses

France Snap Legislative Elections: June 30 and July 7, 2024

Mariama Darame, Le Monde (February 12, 2025): French voters’ mistrust of politics aggravated since snap elections, gap with neighbors widens