The European Tea Party, a shortcut to paradise

The future of the European project is threatened by our own version of the Tea Party. A populist diverse movement that draws from populism, nationalism and a modernist extreme right (such as that of Madame Le Pen in France) combines an anti-politics rhetoric, an anti-immigrant rage and a protectionist anti-European mentality. It is not a conventional extreme right, which is something it has in common with the American version. But it is anti-rational, anti-government and promises simplistic solutions to complex problems, à la Beppe Grillo in Italy. It is a very serious enemy to all those that think that expanding and improving democracy and welfare is the solution in a more, and not less, integrated Europe. The answer to it must be a cultural fight in favour of a post-national Europe, but one that appeals not only to rationality, but also to feelings and emotions in favour of a borderless harmonious Europe in peace with itself. In Spain, the European Tea Party probably does not need any new affiliated organization, because nationalism (central or peripheral) plays its role and appeals to the same instincts. But Europe is in danger from this confluence of populism and nationalism: will the European Union still exist in ten years time? What if it does not exist? Time for action.