Elections Across Europe

In 2017, Europe is in a period of heightened uncertainty: the rise of populist politics, the biggest refugee crisis since World War II, the prospect of a weakened European Union and an increasingly assertive Russia on its doorstep.

French voters recently rejected both major parties to elect an unknown quantity in Emmanuel Macron, who has never before held elected office. The UK’s new Prime Minister Theresa May has made a virtue of being an ‘unclubbable’ Conservative, but after riding high in the lead-up to the June election on a manifesto of 'country and community', her campaign has begun to falter in the wake of two terrorist attacks and the resulting debates about security and rights.

What will happen when Germany goes to the polls in September? Angela Merkel's popularity has been waning since 2015, but 21st-century Europe has become hard to imagine without her steady, predictable presence.

To discuss the state of play in the UK and Europe – and for the 100th edition of this long-running Wheeler Centre series – Fifth Estate host Sally Warhaft is joined by Mary Gearin and Georgina Downer.

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