The biggest fear among European leaders is the fact that Euro-skeptics and EU-skeptics are on the rise and an exit by the UK will help them prosper. In some cases, this fear is becoming like a paranoia. In Germany, in order to prevent the rising right-wing from criticizing the policies of European Central Bank (ECB) and to benefit from that, German government officials have taken it up, to do it before them.
- In Greece, Syriza party, which has been relatively newer and rose to prominence only in 2012, came to power in the last election.
- Similarly, thanks to the rise of the Podemos in Spain has already suffered a failed attempt to form the government and in the upcoming election, Podemos can rise to become the single largest party.
- Rightwing Populist Party led by Norbert Hofer almost won in Austria’s election.
- In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s rating are in decline, whereas Right wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) is gaining prominence.
- In France traditional parties Socialist and UMP are fearful of the rise of Marine Le Pen, who can very well win next year’s election.
Europe undoubtedly will go through a tough phase if Britons choose the exit route. Some members of European Union wants to make an example of Britain so that nobody dares leave and want to move ahead with deeper integration. On the other hand, some members, including Euro-group chair Jeroen Dijsselbloem think Brexit should be seen a vote against more Europe, so further integration may not be a good idea.
A recent survey by Pew Research Center that was done in 10 European countries including Germany, France, Sapin, Greece, and Italy; only 19 percent of the survey respondents feel that the national government should transfer more powers to the EU while 42 percent think some powers should be returned. Almost 71 percent in Greece and 61 percent in France have an unfavorable view towards the European Union.
