FOR once, Europe’s leaders seemed to agree: the European Union must change, and fast. After the European elections on May 22nd-25th, which saw the strong rise of radical parties of both the left and the right, the union had to do more to promote growth and jobs, and to become more relevant to citizens.Such was the message issued by François Hollande, the French president, and David Cameron, Britain’s prime minister, both humiliated after their parties were trounced into third place by anti-EU parties of the right. The call was also echoed by Matteo Renzi, the Italian prime minister, who was boosted by the success of his Democratic Party in seeing off the challenge of the Five Star Movement. “We must change Europe to save it,” he declared.Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, was quick to agree, even though she once more confirmed her talent for winning elections. The emergence of a tame Eurosceptic party, Alternative for Germany, which wants to abandon the euro but not the EU, was contained to 7% of the vote, a far cry from the roughly 25% secured by Marine Le Pen’s National Front in France and Nigel Farage’s United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP...
from The Economist: Europe http://ift.tt/1oy4goF
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