Le Pen’s victory would be body blow for Europe, says Cameron
Britain’s former Prime Minister David Cameron said the election of Front National leader Marine Le Pen in the 2017 French presidential election would be a “big body blow” for Europe. Cameron was speaking at an event in New Delhi on Saturday
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Cameron said the recent rise of “anti-system, populist” and “quite extreme political parties” in western Europe did not mark the end of globalisation, but warned of the immediate need to make a “major course correction” to address related economic and cultural challenges.
“If France were to elect Marine Le Pen, that would be obviously a very big body blow for the European project,” he said, hoping for a victory of “a mainstream party that can unite people behind their candidacy”.
He said the demand for and benefit of free trade, travel, specialisation, technology, innovation were not going away.
“But we do need to understand very profoundly the things that have happened, that have caused the events you have seen in Europe and the wider world in the last one year,” he added.
Cameron resigned as prime minister in June after he lost a national referendum on Brexit. Cameron, a supporter and campaigner for Britain to remain in the European Union, defended the merits of having Britain stay in the bloc.
“I still believe it would have been better for Britain to remain inside the EU,” he said.
“Our neighbours, our partners, our friends and our allies and I wanted us to stay in the room with them when they make decisions that affect us and our continent,” Cameron added.
- with AFP
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