Dolan wrote:Le Pen's % is in the thirties. She'll get in the second round, then everyone else will unite to defeat her. But again, I'm not afraid of a Le Pen win. I know the French will not vote for her anti-EU shit. The only reason she's on a roll now is because of immigration issues and Hollande's major failure to secure France against terrorism. That doesn't mean people would support everything she says, like closer relations with Russia, dismantling NATO, pulling out of the EU/Euro etc. People know she can't do any of that without holding a referendum, and then the people will vote against her "nationalism". The French are too smart for that. They're just at the end of their tether when it comes to Muslim and African immigration and no politician seems able or willing to solve that. That's why Le Pen is even relevant right now.
She has been lashing out at the EU for years now and didn't get so popular thanks to that. Her rise to popularity began on the backdrop of a failing political establishment and rising immigration levels.
Brexit happened for different reasons. What pushed the Brits over the edge was immigration again, but this was bound to happen in a country that has had a long history of Euroscepticism. You have to understand British foreign policy hasn't changed at all during the last few hundreds of years. They're still trying to pit one European country against another to avoid Europe banding together in a strong political and economic entity. They've been doing that in the 18th century, during the Concert of Europe, during the 19th century when they tried to join the Triple Alliance in order to destroy it etc. The Brits never liked a strong Europe, moreso now when they don't have the empire anymore which makes them feel even less relevant and fidgety.
Well I certainly hope you are right but I'm still pretty nervous