Could E.U. Elections Restore Europe’s Christian Heritage?

As European voters head to the polls this weekend to select their representatives in the European Parliament, the continent could be poised for a drastic shift from liberal dominance to conservative control. Such a development could see the governing body re-establish the importance of individual member state governments and national identities – and perhaps restore the organization’s founding spirit of Christian cooperation.

Every five years, eligible voters in European Union (E.U.) member countries elect the 720 members of the European Parliament, the only E.U. institution directly elected by citizens. With 350 million eligible voters, the contest is the largest democratic election in the world outside India.

Observers have compared this year’s elections in terms of their significance to the signing of the Treaty of Rome in 1957, which established the “European Community” and served as the precursor to the establishment of the European Union in 1993. If the polls are correct, conservatives are set to make big gains and could reshape the political direction of the continent toward a more free-market economy and the protection of personal liberties.

Importantly, the Treaty of Rome was also deeply rooted in Christian belief and specifically the Catholic vision of building harmonious social, economic, and political cooperation following two devastating world wars. That religious tradition has since been eroded by modern secular left-wing politicians, but a conservative resurgence could re-establish it.

“This political philosophy, which has always been part of Europe’s DNA, needs to guide European leadership once again,” Professor Ignazio Leggièri, a former advisor to Italy’s Christian Democracy Party, told me. At the time of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, Leggièri served as a junior aide to Italian Deputy Prime Minister Giuseppe Pella, a strong Catholic who contributed to the treaty. “If the freedom and conservatism informed by ancient philosophical and cultural infrastructure were present in the treaty that only a few could sign,” he continued, “today it is on a ballot for every citizen.”

Undoubtedly the biggest challenge the Treaty of Rome visionaries had to face was the centuries-old animosity between France and Germany. As retired law professor Pierre Lavoie told me, overcoming this hurdle was only possible because of the “Christian spirit of humility and servanthood.” Lavoie was then a young assistant in the office of Mouvement Républicain Populaire, the Christian Democratic party in France.

Lavoie also told me that French Prime Minister Robert Schuman, who played a major role in forging the Treaty of Rome, was a “devout Catholic” who “understood that lasting healing between the French and Germans could occur through understanding, forgiveness, and cooperation. Alcide de Gasperi, a committed Catholic from Italy, and Konrad Adenauer, a fervent Protestant from Germany, were also instrumental in creating consensus. The result was six decades of peace in Europe until recently.”

Now, like Schuman, de Gasperi, and Adenauer, three new leaders with Christian backgrounds may have a chance to redefine the political landscape of Europe once again: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and leader of the French National Rally Party Marine Le Pen.

As a feature story from The Economist put it, the relationship between these three women “will shape the future of Europe.”

Following her stunning rise to power in 2022, Meloni has become one of the standard-bearers of the conservative movement in Europe. Guided by an “Italy First” approach to governing, Meloni has ushered through immigration reform, lowered taxes, driven down energy prices, and cut Italy’s bureaucracy.

Along with being Italy’s Prime Minister, Meloni is also president of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party, which is comprised of 14 smaller European conservative parties. That faction could stand to make significant gains this weekend and put Meloni in a powerful, potentially majority-making position in the European Parliament.

In a recent interview for the daily newspaper Il Tempo, Meloni stated that she “no longer wants the E.U. to dictate what people should eat, what car to drive, how to renovate their houses, what clothes to wear, and maybe even how to write and think.” Instead, she believes the European Union’s primary focus should be strategic matters such as common security, supply chains, illegal immigration, and trade. However, she wants individual nations to have the flexibility to handle issues that directly impact their respective citizens’ daily lives.

Marine Le Pen, meanwhile, is widely viewed as the de facto leader of the even more conservative factions in Europe, who have also performed well in polls. An alliance between Le Pen and Meloni could potentially control the European Parliament.

Ursula von der Leyen’s future will likely depend on her ability to forge agreements with Meloni and Le Pen. Her position is elected directly by the European Parliament, and currently her support is melting away.

In essence, in this election the voters will choose between two radically different visions of Europe. One vision is of a nostalgic, ideological, centralist, nihilistic, increasingly technocratic” Europe, which would transform the continent into a bureaucratic entity resembling the Soviet Union. The alternative is Meloni’s modern European conservatism. Under that model, Europe would be a proud family of nation-states which does not forget its roots in ancient values but is also innovative, generating technologies that always serve people.

“If these women, following in the steps of Schuman, de Gasperi, and Adenauer, can build friendship, camaraderie, and amity, not just political deals, they may achieve even greater success for generations,” Professor Lavoie told me. “The stakes today are as high as then, as the West faces uncertainty and even war.”

Now, it is up to the voters to decide.