Skip Navigation
politics @lemmy.world
MicroWave @lemmy.world
EU

EU foreign policy chief fears rightwing surge in June elections

[Note: trying out /c/politics’ new international politics focus]

Josep Borrell is concerned voters will be scared into choosing populist parties for European parliament because of nearby wars

European parliamentary elections in June could be as fateful as the US presidential race, the EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has warned, saying he believes voters’ fear of the unknown may lead them to back rightwing populist parties.

“I am afraid of fear, I am afraid Europeans vote because they are afraid. It’s scientifically proven that fear in the face of the unknown and uncertainty generates a hormone that calls for a security response. This is a fact,” Borrell told the Guardian.

1 comments

  • This is the best summary I could come up with:

    European parliamentary elections in June could be as fateful as the US presidential race, the EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has warned, saying he believes voters’ fear of the unknown may lead them to back rightwing populist parties.

    a lecture given at a summit organised by Le Grand Continent magazine he said both conflicts threatened the future of the bloc, and in the case of Ukraine he said he feared defeat unless there was a rapid change of course.

    Borrell’s remarks come amid gains by rightwing parties across the continent, apparently driven by concerns about migration and squeezed living standards.

    The EU’s external affairs commissioner said: “We are invaded by a media world of threats where we learn about the daily crimes of evil or war, and it creates a hormonal activity directed by fear.

    “Parties that can play on fear in human beings and offer bad responses to good questions can attract the support from the European population.”

    He accepted there are both real and perceived reasons to be concerned, but urged voters to back political forces that can present a lucid analysis of the situation.

    The original article contains 797 words, the summary contains 188 words. Saved 76%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!