French Revolution: Eurosceptics Score Big In Elections
French Revolution: Eurosceptics Score Big In Elections
Eurosceptic nationalist parties are now making hay because the sun shines. They have scored a massive victory in the recent parliamentary elections in Britain and France. Parties opposing the EU won in huge numbers in what is clearly a revolution. The drive towards eurosceptics has been fuelled by rising austerity measures and a fall in employment. Unemployment is as high as 11.8% in the EU currently. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls refered to this occurrence as a political “earthquake” which has shaken the core of the EU.
Marine Le Pen's anti-immigration laws and the anti-Euro Front National (FN)have propelled the Far Right into a massive victory in France. Compared to this, parties in Italy and Germany held their own against right wing groups. What raised doubts about UK as well in the context of the EU, was the massive win scored by Nigel Farage's UK Independence Party that is also euro sceptic.
Le Pen's Front National (FN) trumped the leading Socialists and pushed them into third place. The victory is seen as a resounding refusal to be led by EU commissioners and technocrats who have not faced elections. With nearly 80% of the votes already counted, 26% have been garnered by French Front National. This is ahead of the conservative opposition UMP on 20.6%.
The Socialists have been placed third this time in what is being realised as a heavy defeat. The EU is now faced with a massive dilemma. Not only the anti-establishment parties of the far right, but the hard left also doubled their representation arising from issues as far ranging as anger over mass unemployment to immigration.
The challenge now lies before the center-left and the center-right who are controlling more than half of 751 seats in EU legislature yet faced with the task of handling the eurosceptics. The Socialist party in France is now trying to offer tax cuts to spur a flatlining economy.
The tremor has been felt on both sides of the Channel now and aftershocks are yet to subside. UK's Independence Party has defeated the Labour and the Conservatives in a move that is pointing to the clear victory for the eurosceptics here. Other countries may have escaped the threat, but this does not mean that their citizens are happy with the situation.
Low voter turnout of just around 43% points to the growing disenchantment of the citizens with the EU. Pro-European center may have held ground in Germany with Spain and Italy as well, but this triumvirate cannot hope to pit themselves against the eurosceptics and win, if EU's growth story does not move forward.
The French earthquake initiated by the stunning victory of FN do not bode well for Germany. France was one of the founding members of the European Nation. Rendered toothless by his defeat, President Francois Hollande will now be in no position to support German Chancellor Angela Merkel for the next phase of European integration.
Underpinning the single currency is now no longer in the hands of the ECB, if the current voting patterns of the EU citizens in France are taken into consideration. EU faces massive challenges as France steps into a new era where the right wing rules.
