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‘The Dominant Voter’ in European Elections Is the ‘Confused Voter’

European elections this month are not simply a faceoff between anti-EU and pro-EU forces, says Mark Leonard of the European Council on Foreign Relations.

By , a deputy news editor at Foreign Policy.
A campaign billboard for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AFD) in eastern Berlin on May 17. Europeans vote this week for a new Parliament, with strong gains expected for extreme right-wing parties.
A campaign billboard for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AFD) in eastern Berlin on May 17. Europeans vote this week for a new Parliament, with strong gains expected for extreme right-wing parties.
A campaign billboard for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AFD) in eastern Berlin on May 17. Europeans vote this week for a new Parliament, with strong gains expected for extreme right-wing parties. Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Europeans will go to the polls between May 23 and May 26 for pan-European elections—and this year, for a change, the elections really matter. Nationalist and populist forces are on the rise, support for traditional parties is declining, and the entire future of the decades-old European project is up in the air. Foreign Policy spoke with Mark Leonard, the co-founder and director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, about the populist rebellion, Brexit, and whether Europe can ever really recover its mojo.

Keith Johnson is a deputy news editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @KFJ_FP

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