We are at a crossroads in Europe; we have long since reached one of those decisive moments in history where we have to make decisions about the direction our societies are going to take, what are the forces which will be driving them and what will be the political context around them. Our commitment to a united Europe is chief among those questions. It is the defining political question of our time.
President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, on Tuesday made a call for unity among the European states, in the context of the rapidly deteriorating political climate they have found themselves in. In a letter to the 27 Heads of State & Government, Tusk said Europe was facing challenges “more dangerous than ever before in the time since the signature of the Treaty of Rome”.
The PiS government in Warsaw’s assault on liberal democracy has been raging for over a year now, and, while much of Europe has turned its attention away to other news, the fight goes on to stop Poland from taking the road to authoritarianism.
Europe has faced significant challenges last year, and looks to be facing greater ones this year. But what will it take to halt this slide? Surely a return to the status quo cannot be the answer.
If someone asked me today, “do you think Marine Le Pen could win the French presidency next April?”, I would have to say without pause: certainly. After being rocked by Brexit and Trump’s electoral victory, the political centre ground has never looked more vulnerable to the extremes.
In Search of Europa 