Europe wheels to the right
Just about all political parties in Europe’s mainstream left—and some on the centre-right—say that victory for Tony Blair and his Labour Party is a good omen for themselves. They cannot all be right
ON THE whole, the continent of Europe is still moving to the right, espousing the privatisation of state assets, reform of welfare and pensions, low taxes, fiscal rigour, freer markets. By and large, the mainstream parties of the left have realised that electability, along with their countries' prosperity, requires movement at least to the centre ground. Some, though, are getting there a lot more slowly than others.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Europe wheels to the right”
From the May 10th 1997 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionDiscover more
Emmanuel Macron shows off the gloriously restored Notre Dame
Five years after it was gutted by fire, the cathedral is more beautiful than ever
Ursula von der Leyen has a new doctrine for handling the hard right
The boss of the European Commission embarks on a second term
Marine Le Pen spooks the bond markets
She threatens to bring down the French government, but also faces a possible ban from politics
The maths of Europe’s military black hole
It needs to spend to defend, but voters may balk
Ukraine’s warriors brace for a Kremlin surge in the south
Vladimir Putin’s war machine is pushing harder and crushing Ukrainian morale
Vladimir Putin fires a new missile to amplify his nuclear threats
The attack on Ukraine is part of a new era of missile warfare