Brexit has saved the EU from populist wave, says Guy Verhofstadt
Brexit has saved the European Union from the wave of Eurosceptic politicians that wanted to destroy the bloc, Guy Verhofstadt has said.
The European Parliament’s Brexit coordinator claimed that Britain’s torturous exit from the EU had cowed populist politicians across Europe.
Mr Verhofstadt, who supports the creation of a United States of Europe, told the Ouest France newspaper, “Fortunately, we have Brexit. It illustrates the populist wave, but it has also provoked a resurrection of attachment to the EU within public opinion.”
"We see the difficulties, the chaos created by Great Britain’s exit,” the former prime minister of Belgium said, "“Even the populists do not dare to say that they want to leave the EU. "
“We see a change in their language. They all wanted to get out and now they stay. They see that people do not want it,” said Mr Verhofstadt, who was speaking before the Swedish elections.
“We pro-Europeans must seize the public opinion that is aware of all this,” he said.
The far right Sweden Democrats, who have called for a Swexit referendum, made gains in that vote but were less successful than was predicted.
Sweden’s mainstream parties are planning to freeze the Eurosceptics, who are fiercely anti-migrant, out of any coalition deal.
Mr Verhofstadt, who leads the pan-EU liberal group on the European Parliament, predicted that May’s European elections would become a battleground between pro-EU politicians and nationalist Eurosceptic politicians.
He revealed he would ally himself with Emmanuel Macron, the ardently pro-EU president of France, during the European Parliament election campaign next year.
“If we do not care, [the EU] will disappear. Nothing is forever,” he said.
