A newly released activist, a retired butcher, and four Finnish ex-ministers.
All are part of the group of newcomers to the EU Parliament. Here are some members to keep an eye on during the coming mandate period.
Slowly but surely, the vote counters around Europe have started to reveal who will take the 720 seats in the new EU Parliament.
Among others, Ilaria Salis – a 39-year-old Italian from the Left Party Verdi e Sinistra – has stood out for a rather unusual campaign, from house arrest in Hungary.
Salis has been on trial in Budapest and risked eleven years in prison, accused of attempted assault and participating in an extremist organisation after participating in a counter-demonstration against neo-Nazis in February 2023.
But after the election, she will now be released.
"Finally! We are glad about the news from Budapest. Ilaria Salis can return to Italy and fulfill her new function, which hundreds of thousands of voters have elected her to", say party colleagues Angelo Bonelli and Nicola Fratoianni in a statement according to the news agency AP.
Butcher and Influencer
Perhaps another prisoner can hope for the same treatment. Fredi Beleri, elected for the Greek ruling party New Democracy, is in prison in Albania, where he belongs to the Greek minority, convicted of vote-buying in a mayoral election.
Greece is also responsible for one of the new Parliament's most unusual members: 76-year-old retired butcher Galato Alexandraki, who was elected for the nationalist party Elliniki Lysi (Greek Solution) without actually campaigning at all.
I don't know how this happened. But I thank everyone who voted for me, she said according to the newspaper Kathimerini earlier this week.
Other unusual newcomers are also 24-year-old Cypriot influencer Fidias Panayiotou and 37-year-old Czech car collector and racing enthusiast Filip Turek – who was caught on camera smiling and giving a Hitler salute.
Finnish Ministers
Most members are, however, political professionals – and many with heavy experience.
Not least, Finland contributes to this. Newly elected are, for example, four former ministers who made the country's previous government known worldwide for its strong female dominance.
The former Interior and Environment Minister Maria Ohisalo (The Green Party), Business and Finance Minister Katri Kulmuni (Centre), Justice Minister Anna-Maja Henriksson (Swedish People's Party), and Education Minister Li Andersson (Left Alliance) will all take their seats in the EU Parliament.
Other heavy newcomers are two former Prime Ministers of Belgium: Elio Di Rupo and Sophie Wilmès, as well as the EU's current Environment Commissioner Viriginijus Sinkevicius from Lithuania.
This is what the preliminary distribution of mandates looks like in the newly elected EU Parliament (compared to the current situation in parentheses):
EPP (Christian Democratic conservative): 190 (+14)
S&D (Social Democrats): 136 (-3)
RE (Liberals): 80 (-22)
ECR (EU-sceptic conservative): 76 (+7)
ID (EU-hostile nationalist): 58 (+9)
The Greens/EFA (Green parties and regional): 52 (-19)
GUE/NGL (Left): 39 (+2)
Non-attached: 45 (-17)
New and unclear: 44 (+44)
Final results are still only available from 17 of the 27 member states. Note that the figures – centrally from the EU Parliament – differ slightly from what the groups themselves count, since several of the new ones have already decided where they want to sit.
Source: EU Parliament.
