For years after British voters narrowly voted to leave the European Union in a 2016 referendum, the country’s political environment was characterized by anger, turmoil and confusion. Now Rishi Sunak, who found himself in the prime minister’s seat when 2022’s game of musical chairs ended, has reestablished a modicum of order. But he has so far struggled to address the country’s problems, many of them self-inflicted.
Western Europe
The British national news agenda these days is dominated by debates over migration, economic stagnation and infighting within the Conservative Party. Though understandable, that is obscuring coverage of a breakdown in local governance affecting hundreds of communities across the U.K. that could have a profoundly destabilizing impact.
It is tempting to view the win in Argentina by far-right libertarian economist Javier Milei followed by the first-place finish in the Netherlands by the anti-Muslim firebrand Geert Wilders as evidence of a global movement. But it would be a mistake to view these two earthquakes as part of the same tectonic pattern.