Brussels, We Have a Problem

Increased euroscepticism has been described as an “earthquake” that will profoundly alter the future of Europe. But I’m not surprised.

The outcome of the EP elections this May was received with shock, incredulity and alarm. Shock that is, except if we consider the sizeable chunk of citizens who actually voted for these parties. The support for parties challenging the status quo doubled since the last election, dominating air-time and coverage due to the often aggressive outspokenness of their leaders. 

However, it’s hard to believe that this alarm and shock was not in some way expected from the European electorate. We are, in fact, in the worst economic crisis possibly since the depression: youth unemployment is at staggering levels (surpassing 50% in Spain, Greece and Croatia, 36% in Italy, 26% in France in 2012), and the policies of economic austerity have strangled rather than revived the countries worst affected. The reality for many is one of bleak futures, impossible pressures, and policies dictated from above with seemingly no end in sight. Perhaps through a slightly distorted lens of personal suffering, that is how many ordinary citizens view the policies of the EU since the crisis. Now, while many eurosceptic politicians' voices are far more convincing than their actual policies, it isn’t difficult to see why they have benefitted so much from the crisis.

I personally find the ideas of certain eurosceptics quite repulsive. Geert Wilders of the PVV Party recently blurted that there should be “fewer Moroccans” in Holland, while Marine LePen of the Front National compared the presence of Muslims in France to the Nazi occupation of the country. UKIP’s Nigel Farange said he wouldn’t want Romanians "living next door", and Italy’s comedian-turned-politician Beppe Grillo has been accused of inciting hatred toward Jews and Israel through anti-Semitic remarks. 

These points of view are and should indeed be cause for alarm, but what is crucial is to understand why these parties have gained so much ground. The eurosceptics are not a homologous lot, and are not equally dangerous – they range from Left to Right, from nationalist to populist, some target the “threat” of Islam, others the status quo. What more controversial parties like the Front National have succeeded in doing is to play on people’s discontent, promising radical change from the EU's failures, pledging to promote the people’s true interest. Essentially, they are loud, they are different, and they are awfully convincing. 

It's important not to amalgamate when talking about euroscepticism. Firstly, it comes in different forms, from Alexis Tsipras’ European Left, which wants to change the EU and it’s policies but not destroy it, to more controversial candidates like LePen that want to see a total end to a federal Europe dominated by the euro. Before castigating euroscepticism as a whole, we need to draw the lessons we can from it. People vote when upset, when angry, when strongly or emotionally wanting radical change. Being “sceptical” about who governs you is in itself a constructive quality. It is a voice we hope someone, far, far away in Brussels will hear. What is most worrying is the apathetic detachment that leaders like Barroso and Van Rompuy have had in the past years. Ordinary people – quite rightly – feel these leaders are out of touch with their daily problems, that they are losing their job to cheaper foreign labour or that their pensions have been halved to meet the Troika’s standard. I doubt many would even recognize their faces. This is a key cause in the rise of the eurosceptic vote – major parties are failing to understand disaffected voters. They’ve lost their trust, pushing them to turn to the people who ‘feel their pain’, promising change. 

Interestingly, these EP elections have shifted conventional political discourse – no longer do we ask, “are you voting Left or Right?” but rather “are you voting pro- or anti- Europe?” Coming from two Member States, living in a third, and having friends from various others, makes me hope we might still live in a functioning Union that can share ideas, values and skills, and not only consumer goods. However, the status of Europe today is extremely fragile, unstable, and in need of change. We shouldn’t shun or isolate eurosceptic voters, but rather understand and address their reasons for voting this way. Larger, more centrist parties need to recognise their mistakes, understand people’s everyday concerns, make policy changes, and become, quite frankly, better leaders. If not, the EU will slip away below their feet and the only unity we will have will be on Eurovision night...