No Ode to Joy

Writing from the small Grand-Duchy, a hub for many European institutions and acutely aware of the benefits we owe to the European Union in terms of wealth creation and peace post-WWII, I must express my concerns regarding the rise of the extreme right in the European elections across France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, and Austria. Financial markets appear to share my apprehensions, as evidenced by the drop in European equity futures, the euro, and French bond futures this morning. We are now facing weakened national governments ( e.g. snap elections in France ) and a European Parliament increasingly composed of nationalist and less pro-European lawmakers. This shift will undoubtedly complicate efforts to address Europe's structural issues and diminish the EU's attractiveness to international investors.