Italy's hard-right leader tells EU center parties their time is up as she votes in European election

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

62% : Fico claimed mainstream media, non-governmental organizations and the liberal opposition were also to blame for the assassination attempt, an allegation repeated by politicians in his governing coalition.
56% : The bloc's premier hard-right politician threw down the gauntlet to the traditional center parties, telling them their time to run the EU as they liked was up.
56% : EU Commision President Ursula von der Leyen, who hopes to use Sunday's results as a launchpad for a second term at the head of the EU, has especially been stressing the respect for the rule of law as a quintessential requirement for those seeking power.
49% : In Malta, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, von der Leyen's ally in the Christian Democrat center-right European People's Party, proudly proclaimed "Duty done" and urged EU citizens to go vote, "or others will decide for you."
48% : Fico assassination attempt stokes fears of violence and uncertainty in June EU electionsHe recovered in time to address the nation in a prerecorded video, his first public statement since the attack, just hours before the start of the preelection silence period on Wednesday.
47% : The result could expand Meloni's influence in the EU, as von der Leyen has not ruled out a coalition with her group.
46% : The whole EU campaign has been cast in the light of the center and left forces seeking to hold off a surge of the far right on Sunday and in a fight between those who seek closer EU unity with greater powers against those like Fico, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Meloni who seek to swing the pendulum back to the member states themselves.
45% : READ MORE: Dutch exit poll suggests tight race between far right and center left in EU electionAnd Meloni, the leading hard-right politician governing a key founding nation of the bloc, left no doubt about what was at stake when she went to vote in her suburban neighborhood in Rome on Saturday afternoon.
38% : He also opposes EU sanctions on Russia and wants to block Ukraine from joining NATO.

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