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The rise of the Eurosceptic

The EU elections in May will likely reflect the increasing popularity of Eurosceptic parties on both the extreme right and left wings of the political spectrum, leading to a heightened risk of violent protest and social unrest as mainstream parties are forced to take a harder line on issues such as immigration, writes Rachel Hankey.

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Between the 22nd and 25th of May, the European Union (EU) will hold elections across its 28 member states. The outcome of these elections will likely produce a new majority in the European Parliament, which will govern the EU and the single market for the next five years. Since the last elections in 2009, the Eurozone crisis has severely affected member states and resulted in strict austerity measures. Since then, anti-EU sentiment has grown steadily across the region. Fuelled by concerns about immigration, loss of national powers and widespread distrust, the EU is increasingly viewed as an overbearing and unwieldy bureaucracy. A poll published in July 2013 by Eurobarometer, a public opinion service of the European Commission, revealed that 60 percent of Europeans reported that they “tend not to trust” the EU, compared to 32 percent of respondents in 2007. There is an increasing void between the attitudes of mainstream politicians and many voters, enabling the growth of previously marginal and radical political parties. This has led to support for nationalist and anti-EU parties on both the right and the left wings of the political spectrum. Recent estimates suggest that populist anti-EU parties could secure between 16 and 25 percent of seats in the European Parliament, up from their current position of 12 percent.

The Eurozone crisis and subsequent austerity measures has dominated European politics since the last election. The EU and European Commission, along with national governments, have overseen far-reaching cuts to public spending. Anti-austerity protests occurred across the Eurozone, as trade unions and public sector workers held strikes and protests against the cuts. The protests peaked in 2012 and 2013 when violent clashes occurred between police and demonstrators in Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal, the countries worst affected by the Eurozone crisis. While such protests have subsided recently, with tentative indicators of economic recovery across some of the Eurozone countries, protests in the worst effected countries, most notably Greece, have continued.
There is an increasing void between the attitudes of mainstream politicians and many voters, enabling the growth of previously marginal and radical political parties.

The Eurozone crisis highlighted the inherent weaknesses and risks of an economic union, especially one between a large number of disparate states. Despite the crisis, several member states in Central and Eastern Europe are pressing ahead with plans to join the single currency as a condition of their accession to the EU. In January 2014, Latvia joined the Eurozone, becoming the 18th member of the single currency. However, a poll conducted in late December 2013 showed that half of Latvians were opposed to joining and some Latvian politicians reported that the government had no choice but to go ahead with the transition to the Euro as a requirement of their EU membership. There is also opposition to the extension of the Eurozone among existing members, with the eurozone crisis featuring high on the agenda of national elections.

This was notable in the September 2013 election in Germany, one of the largest contributors to bailout packages for Greece. Whilst Chancellor Merkel has previously promoted closer fiscal ties and a banking union to defuse the euro zone crisis, opinion polls conducted shortly before the election indicated that most Germans were opposed to deeper economic relationships. A majority of Germans surveyed opposed providing further bailouts without a referendum, and more than half of respondents reported that they wished Germany to stay in the single currency union, but wanted a reduced Eurozone with membership “restricted to a select group of more similar countries”.

European Union

Whilst the Eurozone crisis and opposition to austerity have helped fuel the rise of anti-EU sentiment, the growing popular support for anti-EU political parties also reflects growing concerns about loss of national power and opposition to increasing EU legislation and regulations. Anti-EU party manifestos stress a desire to reclaim national powers and reduce the remit of the EU.

Some, such as the UK Independence Party (UKIP), a right-wing Eurosceptic party, advocate total withdrawal from the EU. Yet opposition to the EU is not confined to parties on the political fringes – the UK Conservative party has pledged to hold a referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU if they win the next general election.

Not simply opposed to greater integration with other European states, many of these Eurosceptic parties also have a strong anti-immigrant sentiment. UKIP leader Nigel Farage recently announced his intention to restrict access to benefits for EU migrants in the EU and has faced criticism about election campaign posters alleging that nearly 2 million EU unemployed were seeking jobs in the UK. Whilst many Eurosceptic parties are swift to reject any suggestion of racism within their supporters and members, there is an unmistakable xenophobic undertone in many cases, particularly within right-wing parties. One of the most extreme examples is Greece’s far-right Golden Dawn party, which plans to contest the European and local Greek elections in May. Recent opinion polls suggest that Golden Dawn, which currently holds 18 seats in the Greek parliament, is the third most popular party and could win approximately 10 percent of the vote.

The party now claims to reject neo-Nazi views, but earlier this year Greek authorities investigating the group’s suspected illegal activities obtained a large number of photographs and videos which allegedly depict members of Golden Dawn participating in mock executions, posing with weaponry and giving Nazi salutes.

The Greek investigation was prompted by the murder of a left-wing rapper by a Golden Dawn supporter, while several members of the party, including its leader Nikos Michaloliakos, are in custody awaiting trial for operating a criminal organisation.

In Hungary, the far-right party Jobbik won 20 percent of the vote in recent national elections. Jobbik’s popularity has sparked concern in Europe due to the radical nationalist and anti-Semitic ideologies promoted by the party, which has previously argued that Jews are a “national security risk” and called for the introduction of detention camps for Roma “deviants”. In France’s local elections, the far-right National Front party (NF) led by Marine Le Pen also made substantial gains. Le Pen has sought to distance the party from its anti-Semitic roots. However, as with many such parties, whilst their leaders may publicly reject racist and extremist views, actions by NF politicians have indicated that such opinions are still held by some of their members. Late last year, an NF candidate for the municipal elections was suspended after comparing the Justice Minister to a monkey. Whilst such parties largely represent a minority of voters, there is a risk of extremist sentiments seeping into mainstream politics. At the very least, they will force mainstream parties to adopt a harder line on issues on which they formerly took a liberal stance.

The on-going crisis in Ukraine is one factor which may stem the tide of Euro-scepticism. Several European politicians have openly stated that the crisis may remind voters, especially those who would have abstained, of the importance of unity across Europe. National and regional security has been brought to the fore, with politicians such as Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk highlighting that national security is closely aligned with a strong and unified Europe.

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