A dramatic comeback for Europe

London

THE Dutch are famous for building dykes that hold back the tides and storms sweeping across the Atlantic. Have the Dutch done it again, holding back the wave of populist politics that seemed to be threatening Europe after last year's Brexit referendum and Donald Trump's victory in the United States?

The unexpectedly weak performance of Geert Wilders' Freedom Party (PVV) in the Dutch election on March 15 seems to suggest this. Despite predictions running as high as 25 per cent of the popular vote for Mr Wilders, the PVV gained only 13 per cent. If voters in France's upcoming presidential election prove closer to the Dutch than to Americans and Britons in their susceptibility to xenophobia and protectionism, their decision will have global implications for politics, economics, and the ideology of global capitalism.