Exit polls from MEP elections in several western European countries indicate that centre-right groupings are reaping dividends from the economic crisis. A notable exception was Greece where the opposition socialists were scoring well.  

Spain: The Conservative opposition in Spain appeared to be beating the incumbent Socialist Party in the EU election, according to exit polls released after voting closed, after a campaign that focused on the devastating economic crisis that has engulfed Spain.
Unemployment now tops 17 per cent, the highest rate in the European Union and Spanish prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's popularity has fallen dramatically. 

Italy: Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right coalition is ahead of the socialist opposition, with between 39 per cent and 43 per cent of the vote, exit polls suggested.

Portugal: First exit polls give victory to the opposition centre-right PSD. Party spokesman Jose Pedro Aguiar Branco hailed the first exit polls as "an unequivocal sign of change" in favour of opposition leader Manuela Ferreira Leite.
Portugal's leftist prime minister Jose Socrates has been reeling from a major domestic scandal and economic crisis.

Sweden: The pirate part appears to be gaining ground, according to opinion polls. Support for the Social Democrats, however, continues to trend downwards in all polls. Sweden's largest party appears to have support veering between 26 and 27 per cent.
The Pirate Party now has support of more than eight per cent of voters, enough to give two seats in the European Parliamant

France: All polls point to a victory for President Nicolas Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), ahead of the opposition Socialist Party, Europe Ecologie and the centrist Modem of former presidential candidate Francois Bayrou.
Sarkozy's centre-right party is expected to do much better this time than in 2004, when it won 17 seats, compared with 31 for the Socialist Party (PS). This election is a big test for the PS under its new leader, Martine Aubry.

Belgium: In Belgium exit polls showed that the anti-immigrant, far-right Flemish Interest party had suffered its biggest setback in a quarter of a century in regional and European elections in Belgium. The ruling Christian Democratic CD&V look to emerge as the big winners with roughly 25 per cent of the vote.

Austria: The right-wing formation has won most of the 17 seats for the EU parliament. With most votes counted, the main far-right party was gaining strongly while the Social Democrats, the main party in the governing coalition, lost substantial ground. The big winner was the rightist Freedom Party which, according to polls, more than doubled its strength over the 2004 elections to 13 per cent of the vote. Support for the list headed by Hans-Peter Martin, who has campaigned against alleged corruption in the EU, is expected to rise to 17.9 per cent. The two main governing parties, the People's Party and the Socialist Democrats, are set to achieve similar results to 2004, with 29.7 per cent and 23.8 per cent of the vote.

Ireland: Exit polls showed the ruling Fianna Fail party could lose one of its four seats to a party that opposes the EU's Lisbon reform treaty, intended to streamline decision making in the Union now that it has 27 member states.

Greece: Here there has been a reversal of the general trend. Voters, angry with scandals and the economic crisis, were set to hand the opposition Socialists victory over the ruling New Democracy party.