The survey found that Europe is “undergoing a great conservatism” with voters rejecting Brussels’ globalist policies and blaming them for the decline of their countries.
Ahead of next week’s European elections investigation A survey conducted by Tyson Group for the EU-US Forum found that European citizens are growing tired of the policies of high taxes, heavy regulation, open borders and censorship pursued by Brussels and national governments.
This correlates with an increasing number of people who think the EU is heading in the wrong direction under its current left-wing leadership, with only 24% of Dutch respondents thinking the EU is heading in the right direction, followed by 29% of Italians and 32% of French people.
In the wake of the economic crisis across Europe, the survey found that there has been a “noticeable tendency towards more conservative political leanings” among those surveyed, with significantly more people in France and Portugal (59%), Italy (54%), Germany (49%) and the Netherlands (48%) saying they think their personal financial situation has worsened over the past year.
According to the poll, the most commonly cited reason for this is “excessive taxation”, with 73% of Italians saying they feel taxed too much, followed by 69% in Portugal, 52% in the Netherlands, 51% in Germany and 44% in France.
Another major factor in the polity’s rightward shift is illegal immigration, which the EU-US Forum said “highlights widespread concerns about illegal immigration and its impact on national security, economic stability and social cohesion.”
More than three-quarters of respondents in France, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal, as well as 63 percent of Italians, agreed that countries should implement stricter border controls to reduce the flow of illegal immigrants into Europe. This comes as populist parties that advocate tougher immigration policies have seen a surge in support and are expected to make big gains in the European Parliament elections taking place June 6-9, according to the report.
Commenting on the findings, Alex Alvarado, Vice President of Tyson Group, said: “A survey conducted earlier this month made it clear that EU citizens are desperate for change in their governments and policies. There is strong negative sentiment towards the direction of the EU and national leaders. This phenomenon has led to rising support for conservative parties in each of our surveys.”
“EU citizens are struggling economically, and they blame high taxes and excessive energy regulations pushed by their governments and Brussels. But the backlash in Europe goes beyond the economy: Respondents are concerned about expanding government censorship and leaders’ inability to protect borders. Our data shows a major shift toward conservatism is underway in some of the EU’s largest countries.”
In addition to immigration and economic policy, the survey also found “strong sentiment” about the need to “revitalize domestic agriculture,” something that has been stifled by Brussels’ imposition of burdensome regulations on farmers along with free trade policies that allow foreign produce to undercut domestic prices because they often do not have to meet the same environmental and labor standards as EU farmers.
EU-US Forum
However, as the need for national self-sufficiency became more recognised, an overwhelming majority of those surveyed supported the statement that “domestic food production must be rebuilt and domestic agriculture encouraged.”
According to the poll, 89 percent of Portugal agreed with the statement, followed by 85 percent in both France and Germany, 74 percent in Italy and 72 percent in the Netherlands.
The backlash against globalist green policies has been led in Europe by farmers who have staged massive and disruptive tractor protests from Portugal to Poland. This pro-farmer movement is shaping up to be one of the most successful populist protest movements in modern European history. It has already played a key role in forming the most conservative government in the Netherlands and is likely to have a major impact on the upcoming EU parliamentary elections.
In addition to concerns about self-destructive and often authoritarian environmental policies, there are also growing concerns about increasing levels of government censorship across Europe, with EU and national governments imposing ever-increasing restrictions on the internet to crack down on so-called misinformation and “hate speech.”
The survey found that 65% of French respondents are concerned about increased government censorship, with 33% strongly concerned. Results are similar in Italy, with 63% concerned about government censorship, and 32% strongly agreeing that “I am more worried now than I was 10 years ago about the government censoring my views.”
Europe’s increasingly censorship-ridden landscape was notoriously demonstrated last month when the mayor of Brussels’ socialist district ordered police to shut down a national conservative conference, arguing that the “far right” should not be able to express their views in the EU capital.
Patricia Changon, a member of the European Parliament from the French National Rally who was among those barred from the conference by police, told Breitbart after the incident that the “authoritarian” action seemed like “a last, desperate attempt by those in power to stay there” because they know that “very soon… the people will take back power and defend their rights.”
‘A sharp shift to the right’: Populist parties predicted to win EU parliamentary elections in nine countries https://t.co/55dYsysrZw
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) January 27, 2024
