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Briferendum Series: Hear what EU skeptic leaders say

The Eurosceptic right-wing nationalist leaders in all around Europe got charged up after British referendum that has raised the possibility that Britain will exit from the European Union. As they gain in popularity all across the Europe, their visions will be one of the key determinants for the future of the Union.

Let’s hear what they are saying,

  • Greet Wilders, the leader of the right-wing Dutch Party of Freedom said that he wants to move for a referendum for Netherlands as soon as possible. He said that more than half of the country’s population want such a vote to happen. He also said that the country wants to manage its own money, own borders and have its own immigration policy. He promised a referendum: “If I become prime minister, there will be a referendum in the Netherlands on leaving the European Union as well. Let the Dutch people decide.” Next election is in early 2017.
     
  • Norbert Hofer, the right-wing Freedom Party candidate in Austria who narrowly lost the presidential election in May, warned in an interview published Sunday that Austrians might seek a referendum of their own on leaving the EU if the European Parliament does not change course.
     
  • “Victory for freedom! As I have been asking for years, now we need to have the same referendum in France and in the countries of the EU.” That came from France’s presidential hopeful in next year’s election Marine Le Pen, whose popularity has jumped in recent months.
     
  • German right wing party, known as Alternative for Germany (AfD) accused German Chancellor Angela Merkel of giving up the country’s sovereignty and called for a change in approach in the European Union.

British referendum outcome shows that it is not the European Central Bank (ECB) that has been fuelling the rise of the right-wing politics in Europe but the approach of the Union which got all but disconnected from the citizen. Large chunks of average people in Europe aren’t feeling connected to the ideas of the Union.

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