TIME: These 5 Facts Explain Why European Populism Will Survive a Le Pen Defeat

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Excerpted:

These 5 Facts Explain Why European Populism Will Survive a Le Pen Defeat
Ian Bremmer
May 04, 2017

1. Brexit is just getting started

Begin with the most tangible manifestation of European populism to date—Brexit. Until David Cameron called for a Brexit referendum in 2015, most Britons didn’t even consider their country’s relationship to the E.U. as a matter of significant concern....

2. Hungary and Poland are drifting towards illiberalism

...The current governments in both countries have undermined democracy in recent years; Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban says he’s building an “illiberal state” modeled on Russia, China, and Turkey. Both countries have cracked down on free media, challenged the independence of courts, and fanned anti-immigrant sentiment at a time when the rest of Europe is still struggling to cope with the influx of Syrian and Libyan refugees. The open disdain for democratic processes and burden-sharing isn’t helping European solidarity, and at a particularly dangerous time for the entire European project.

3. Relations with Turkey are deteriorating

Why dangerous? Because Turkish elections are on the horizon. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan just won a popular referendum that will give his office sweeping new powers, though he needs to win an election for those powers to come into force. ...

4. Italy's economy is on its last legs

Before there were Syrian refugees or Brexit, there was an economic crisis. Seven years later, it’s Italy that may pose the biggest risk of all to the future of the European Union. As the Eurozone’s third-largest economy with a 2015 GDP topping $1.8 trillion, Italy is “too big to bail.”...

5. France is still bitterly divided

And then there’s France. A President Macron will have a tough time governing, given that he founded his political party just last year....

Source: http://time.com/4767183/france-election-marine-le-pen-europe-populism/