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The European Surprise—Why We Misread the Continent’s Shifts

The European Surprise—Why We Misread the Continent’s Shifts
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni ahead of a bilateral meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street in London on March 2, 2025. Ben Whitley - WPA Pool/Getty Images
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Commentary

Europe’s political landscape continues to defy expectations, leaving analysts and policymakers scrambling to explain outcomes that, in hindsight, seem foreseeable. From the UK’s Brexit vote to Giorgia Meloni’s rise in Italy, the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) surge in Germany, Dutch farmers’ revolts, and Marine Le Pen’s ascent in France, each development triggers a chorus of shocked “No one saw this coming.” Yet millions of Europeans did.

Tamuz Itai
Tamuz Itai
Author
Tamuz Itai is a journalist and columnist who lives in Tel Aviv, Israel.