The Brexit Party gained 29 seats in the new chamber - as many as Angela Merkel's CDU/CSU, and more than Matteo Salvini's League in Italy, which got 28 seats as 34 percent of Italians who voted opted for his far-right, anti-migrant party. [...]
A number of smaller far-right parties across Europe support Salvini's bloc, however, most did not perform well in the elections. Geert Wilder's anti-Islam Freedom Party in the Netherlands, for one, lost all of its seats. [...]
"But ultimately, they don't have the same aims, so it's unclear at this point how much they are going to cooperate. Traditionally, Farage and his colleagues have rarely taken an interest in the works of the EU. They weren't really active in the committees, they didn't hold any of the important roles," she said, adding that it remains to be seen "how invested they [Farage et al] are in the European Parliament". [...]
"[However], the League is much more oriented towards playing the European game. Of course, they have positioned themselves against some of the decisions made by the EU, but unlike Mr Farage, they do not want to undermine the EU and the institution of the European Parliament per se," Frantescu told Al Jazeera. [...]
"A more fragmented EU parliament shows there is more polarisation, and I think that makes for a more healthy debate. But it will also make EU reform much more difficult," Wright added. "There are going to be lots of challenges ahead for the EU and I'm not sure where Brexit sits in that list of priorities."
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