The
day that all Europe is looking for the polls results.
4th
December 2016
Today
Europe is waiting impatiently
for the pools results in Italy and Austria. With the tremendus
rise of far-right parties in several EU members states, and just
weeks after Trump's astonish
victory in the USA, Europe's biggest ally, the fear of the
beginning of a new era for Europe is imminente.
If far-rights parties win tonight, it seems a new challenge for the EU. A new one to add to a
long list of challenges that the EU must face it in the coming year.
Italy
is now helding a constitutional referendum. Indeed, leaving the EU
is not in question here, though depending on today's polls result,
Italy can express a strong sweeping trend. "If "yes"
vote wins, impressive reforms on the constitutional will succeed.
The changes include an impressive reduction of power of the senate,
as well as a new regulation allowing the regional lawmakers to choose
the senators who serve. If the Italian Prime minister Matteo Renzi do
not succeed in convincing the population of Italy by winning the "yes"
vote, then an unprecedent event can happen in Italy. Italy is one of
the initial 6 countries that formed in the 50's what today is the European Union and during the years the eurosceptic parties came and go. Yet, the victore of the "no" vote can encourage an increase
of populism in Italy which has been leading by both a radical populist
group Five Star Movement, as well as the far-right group Northern League. All Europe is watching these referendum uneasy.
In
the meantime, in Austria, citizens are going to vote for the
Presidential elections. The country seemed divided on the recent
polls projections showing a very close election result between the
liberal Alexander Van der Bellen and the far-right leader Norbert
Hofer. And EU citizens are watching closely this elections. If the
Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) leading by Norbert Hofer wins today,
Europe can have the first EU far-right leader since World World II.
This Presidential Candidate has expressed many controversial opinions
on several sensitive issue for the EU. He said that would call for a
national referendum on the EU, depending on the coming Brexit developments. In
addition, he is a strong supporter of anti-immigrant and
anti-refugees measures.
For
now, the EU citizens can only wait for the polls results of these two
member states that will be known soon, wishing the best for the
future of Europe. But even if the results will not reveal the victory
of far-right parties in Austria and Italy, the threat of the rise of
populism in Europe is clearly real.
