EUROPE - European politics has seen a spectacular rise in the fortunes of far-right parties in recent years. Six EU countries now have parties in government widely described by experts as hard or far-right - these include Italy, Finland, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia and the Netherlands. Marine Le Pen's National Rally had victory snatched from its grasp by tactical voting in July's parliamentary elections in France, allowing a left-wing coalition to claim the most seats but not a clear majority. Meanwhile, national elections this year in Austria and Germany could see far-right parties make even more political gains. Elections are also to be held in Sweden in 2026, a country in which the hard-right Swedish Democrats are the second-largest party in parliament and are supporting the centre-moderate executive.