The Political Fragmentation of Europe
October 21st, 2025
Audrey Han
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October 21st, 2025
Audrey Han
On September 13th, 2025, a London right-wing protest gathered more than 100,000 supporters, reflecting rising anti-migrant and nationalist sentiment in Britain. One month ago, 50,000 protesters gathered in the streets of Berlin to protest the Israel-Hamas war, standing toe-to-toe with over 1,800 law enforcement officers. Then, 2 weeks ago, more than 200 cities in France rallied together to protest demand higher taxes for the wealthy and against Macron’s presidency. All across Europe, we begin to see a rise in the dissent of the common people against their governing bodies, yet many of the biggest countries seem to be unable to find a peaceful middle ground. Political polarization has thoroughly gripped the continent, influenced by a myriad of reasons such as economic dissatisfaction, immigration concerns, and political instability.
One of the most prominent reasons for this unhappiness against the government is the stagnating economy that we see plaguing the continent of Europe. The European economy has been struggling since the economic crisis of 2009, which was the start of the Eurozone debt crisis, eventually leading to inflation, energy crisises, falling wages, and a struggling economy. Mirroring this economic challenge is an increase in the cost of living, with the cost of housing increasing by 5.4% on average in 2025, and the unemployment teetering dangerously close to record lows.
In countries like France, citizens only grew more furious as President Macron announced that he would be raising the pension age from 62 to 64, taxing employee benefits for meal vouchers and credit vacations, scrapping grants, and significant spending cuts in the budget. Yet, in light of all of his economic reforms to decrease public spending, he has yet to enforce any higher taxes on the rich, even going as far as to scrapping a financial asset tax for the wealthy. As a result, his actions have named him the president of the rich.
Other countries, like Germany, face similar economic burdens. Their exports continue to decline while inflation has risen to an annual high. Their economic growth has stalled, as their GDP growth is a mere 0.7%, smallest of all EU nations. With weaknesses such as low public investment and an over-reliance on exports, Germany’s economy is facing high energy costs that risk unsustainability. This, coupled with the steady decline of Germany’s industrial base means that the country risks brain drain. Germany companies that were once figureheads and beacons of innovation in the country have began to relocate production internationally, and industrial production has declined by more than 90% in less than ten years.
Finally, in the United Kingdom, Brits face soaring debt and social unrest in light of rising inflation, their economy is stagnating once more, and living costs remain high ever since Brexit occurred. It becomes increasingly clear that a drudging economy is a common trait shared by many of the major countries in Europe, which is critical as the continent is reliant on each other for trade partnerships and economic alliances. When a few countries struggle, the entire continent begins to decline.
Historically, when poverty begins to rise, an increase in the cost of living leads to a rise in populism and far right sentiment, as individuals become frustrated with their government. Today’s Europe is no exception from this.
Political fragmentation has taken its root in countries all across Europe. In France, there has been 7 prime ministers under Macron’s presidency, with many of them fighting to keep their position before being targeted and forced to resign through a no confidence vote. After a snap parliamentary election, France ended up with a hung parliament: one where leftist parties, centrist parties, and far-right parties all held numbers, but no one held one clear majority. This makes it easy for prime ministers to undergo immense pressure to cave to policies; current French Prime Minister Lecournu is facing censure threats from opposition parties in the far right and far left to immediately complete the suspension of Macron’s pension policy. This fragmentation and political pressuring creates an environment where passing legislature on key issues like pensions, budget reform, and economic restructuring has become extremely difficult. However, these are the issues that affect the citizens of France the most, and a solution is yet to be found. Consequently, public trust and approval in the government has taken a rapid nosedive, with many believing that the democratic system itself being dysfunctional.
In Germany, the left-right divide remains, but there has been a growing shift to the center-right leaning orientation, with young men found to increasingly swing to the far-right, a parallel to the growing anti-migrant rhetoric by the chancellor himself. Immigration debates, under his governance, have become framed in moral values of right and wrong rather than policy trade-offs, adding a personalized element to politics that has made compromise much more difficult.
In the United Kingdom, far-right led protests have reached numbers over 100,000, specifically focusing on anti-immigration chants and fights. Furthermore, this protest also turned violent, as it has been found that police officers reported to be attacked with projectiles. Along with this xenophobia comes a rise in misogyny and racism in the younger generations, reflecting a heated atmosphere that threatens to spiral to extremism.
All throughout Europe, polarization manifests in both economic grievances and cultural clashes, creating a toxic mix that undermines effective governance. It becomes a harmful cycle, where ineffective governance breeds more frustration, leading to a further split in beliefs, cementing policy paralysis.
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