A European Parliament member on Tuesday warned against the surge of
nationalistic and xenophobic sentiment in populist movements across the
globe, citing troubling trends in the U.S. and the UK.
Both
Carrilho and Pereira predicted the defeat of France’s right-wing
candidate Marine Le Pen in this Sunday’s presidential election. Pereira
cited the losses of far-right candidates Norbert Hofer in Austria and
Geert Wilders in the Netherlands as evidence, while Carrilho said Le
Pen’s program for job creation is not consistent enough.
Pedro
Silva Pereira – a Portuguese member of the European Parliament who
appeared at Georgetown University – described Britain’s exit from the EU
as a “marvelous illusion.”
Brexiteers leading the campaign, Pereira said, convinced the majority of voters that in order to block unwanted migration of refugees, terrorists and the democratic failings of the EU, Britain should turn inward, restoring power to Parliament. He said similar pleas were made by President Trump during his 2016 campaign, when he pushed for border control and immigration reform.
Brexiteers leading the campaign, Pereira said, convinced the majority of voters that in order to block unwanted migration of refugees, terrorists and the democratic failings of the EU, Britain should turn inward, restoring power to Parliament. He said similar pleas were made by President Trump during his 2016 campaign, when he pushed for border control and immigration reform.
“We
have to fight (in the United States), where the battle is based on the
issue of values and political ideas,” Pereira said. “Let’s bear in
mind that history tells us that we should take nationalism seriously.”
Recent
developments show how volatile the situation remains with the refugee
crisis in Europe, where politicians continue pushing populist agendas.
British Prime Minister Theresa May announced Tuesday that the country
will hold a general election on June 8, three years ahead of schedule.
British general elections determine who will serve in Parliament, and
June 8 will offer a good reading of the political temperature in the UK
following Brexit.
Meanwhile,
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, fresh off his contested
victory in a controversial referendum that boosted his powers, plans to
restore the death penalty in Turkey and has demanded that Europe allow
visa-free travel for Turks across the region.
According
to Eurobarometer, EU’s official public opinion poll, immigration and
terrorism top the list of concerns for citizens across the continent.
Tuesday’s panel agreed that populists have also seized on fears over
continued downward mobility brought on by wage freezes, economic
stagnation and high unemployment.
“The
incapacity to implement bold and necessary reforms has led, in my
point of view, to a lack of confidence in the political class as a
whole and to the belief that there are no efficient solutions to the
problems facing our societies, and therefore there is a perception that
this negative cycle might have no end,” said Pedro Reis, former
president of the Portuguese Agency for the External Commerce.
Reis
said that sustained cycles of unemployment and a lack of
competitiveness have left the majority of European citizens with little
hope that the economic situation will improve. Recent surveys, he
said, show that 36 percent of European citizens trust EU institutions,
compared to 57 percent in 2007.
While
immigration and terrorism are chief among the EU’s concerns, France is
most worried about unemployment, according to Eurobarometer.
Unemployment stands at 10.5 percent in France. Maria Carrilho, former
member of the Portuguese and European parliaments, said the French
outlook is particularly interesting considering that the country has
been repeatedly hit by terrorist attacks.
