The Spectator Podcast: the people vs the EU

This week, the new Italian coalition’s proposed government was blocked by the Italian President, giving EU grandees in Brussels a cause for celebration. But is the EU way too controlling of rebellious member states? On the home front, would a Eurozone crisis help or hinder Brexit negotiations? We ask Nigel Farage. And last, is Mueller’s special investigation into potential Russo-Trump collusion going anywhere?

First, Brussels has got a problem. Across Europe, populist politicians are winning elections on Eurosceptic platforms. Douglas Murray argues in this week’s cover piece that even though the public has spoken, Brussels just can’t handle democracy when elections don’t go their way. That’s why, he writes, Italy’s populist coalition has prematurely met its end. So is the EU really so controlling? Douglas joins the podcast with Tom Nuttall, the Economist’s Charlemagne columnist. Douglas gives his take on the fate of Finance Minister nominee, Paulo Savona:

‘The fact that somebody who has even played around with these ideas [of leaving the EU] and sometimes posited them is deemed to be unacceptable by the President, on behalf of Brussels, is, I think, a profoundly serious challenge for people who believe in democracy.’

Now if the Eurosceptic coalition in Italy wins again in another election, Brussels may have to deal with rebellion from an EU founding state, which could cause another Eurozone crisis.