Americans Like Beppe Grillo

American businessmen and politicians are looking at the results of the European elections on May 25 with interest and a little apprehension: There is a chance that the anti-Europeans will win.

For the first time, the American political and financial ruling classes are very interested in the European elections. Up until now, experts on the other side of the Atlantic have considered the elections only as a sort of test for evaluating the popularity of each national government. However, Obama’s administration and Wall Street have been somewhat anxiously awaiting the May 25 elections.

Obama’s Abandonment

The reason is simple: Europe is in crisis; there appears to be very little economic growth and none at all in some countries; unemployment is at nightmare levels; the Old Continent seems to be at the mercy of the same stagnant economic syndrome that affected Japan for decades. This situation could affect the United States.

That’s not all. In addition to an uncertain economic horizon, Europe is experiencing a time of political instability because of the crisis in Ukraine, which further highlights the limitations of European political action. Another factor must be taken into consideration: Anti-Europe parties could win — politically, if not in numbers — the next elections by gathering the frustration and anger that runs through the continent from north to south, east to west — an affirmation that worries Washington.

A Negative Picture

The Americans abandoned Europe to its own devices. Obama only became concerned when he realized that not only did the euro crisis jeopardize the U.S. recovery, but that his re-election was also at stake. Once the danger had passed, his administration then looked toward the Pacific — to Beijing — and left Brussels behind. After a few years, the White House has understood that it has not made the best decisions. The reawakening of the Russian bear has put it face to face with the consequences of that policy. The U.S. was left vulnerable.

For Washington, all of these factors put together — economic crisis, incapability to affect political action, wave of anti-Europeanism — paint a bleak picture. For the first time, even the other side of the Atlantic is taking a serious interest in the results of the European elections. Wall Street reflects on the lack of European reform and thinks that the weak recovery will affect international markets; Obama’s weak presidency does not take comfort in the political deadlock in Brussels. On the contrary, now, it’s a problem.

The Concerns over Anti-Europeanism

The U.S. is prone to isolationism and has no desire to take on the weight of a heavy burden like Europe’s decline on its shoulders, but at the same time, the U.S. must react in some way if it does not wish to find itself with an even heavier burden on its shoulders.

All this does not concern the average American. There was a time when during the election campaign, Mitt Romney accused Obama of wanting to reduce the U.S. to the “level” of Italy. This is not the case with Washington’s politics and business affairs. For the mass media, in this case, the elections are interesting because of the anti-Brussels European tendencies. Therefore, it is not by chance that The New York Times thought it was important to write an article describing and analyzing the parties against the euro and Europe.

In its article, the New York daily paper focused on Italy and on how many Italians no longer approve of Brussels. The man who symbolizes this disillusion is Beppe Grillo. However, Europe now rejects the Italian individualism that it once admired. In Rome, as in many other countries, and throughout the continent, the elections are no longer being swept under the rug, and this is the signal that that who wins now generates interest. This time, the European elections also count for Washington.