European Blues

Europe can't seem to handle actual democracy:

This is a story which has repeated itself across Europe. A French court recently banned Marine Le Pen, nominal leader of the right-wing National Rally, from running for office. But doing so has allowed Jordan Bardella, her younger and clear successor, to take the reins. Already, polls show him doing better than Le Pen – who was relatively unpopular outside of her movement – ever did. In Germany, the Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) has not been banned – yet. But the German government just declared it an “extremist” organisation, which is the first step to banning the party altogether. All other parties have likewise ruled out working with it. But has all of this actually helped restore trust in German institutions? No. The AfD is now the most popular party in the country, having surged in support since it came in second place just months ago in Germany’s parliamentary elections. And in America, attempts to jail Donald Trump resulted in a mugshot which he used on t-shirts, coffee mugs, and as jet fuel for his campaign. All four of his trials failed, and he rode a wave of indignation back to power. In all of these cases, if these various establishments had simply met voters halfway – by actually restricting illegal migration, for example – or had simply allowed democracy to run its course, then the worst would have been avoided for them. But now France could have its first populist-right president ever. The AfD could continue to rise. And Romania may have a firebrand who can actually work with others – and in doing so, could sustain a movement and change his country’s politics forever.

Unfortunately it seems European leaders don't do real change...