Conservatives ahead in EU Parliament vote

A Bulgarian Muslim woman voting in the European Parliamentary elections. Conservatives have been forging ahead in Europe as voters are favoring the conservatives in the European Parliament elections in France, Germany and elsewhere. Some right-leaning parties said the results vindicated their reluctance to spend more on company bailouts and fiscal stimulus amid the global economic crisis. First projections by the European Union showed center-right parties would have the most seats--between 263 and 273--in the 736-member parliament. Right-leaning governments were ahead of the opposition in Germany, France, Italy and Belgium, while conservative opposition parties were leading in Britain and Spain. Greece was the exception, where the governing conservatives were headed for defeat in the wake of corruption scandals and economic woes. Germany's Social Democrats seemed to be heading to their worst showing in a nationwide election since World War II. Four months before Germany holds its own national elections, the outcome boosted conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel's hopes of ending the tense left-right "grand coalition" that has led the European Union's most populous nation since 2005. HSH/SME/HAR