Billionaire investor, philanthropist and far-right foil George Soros has a bold prediction about the future of the European Union, saying the European conglomerate of countries is “sleepwalking into oblivion” and will collapse like the Soviet Union if big changes aren’t made.
Soros on Tuesday penned an op-ed in The Guardian, a UK newspaper, saying EU citizens should be more aware of the threats posed by anti-Europe political parties across the continent, and that “the sleeping pro-European majority” must awaken and be mobilized “to preserve the values on which the EU was founded.”
“Otherwise, the dream of a united Europe could become a 21st-century nightmare,” Soros wrote.
Soros has said much the same before.
Last May he said the EU was in an “existential crisis,” placing some of the blame of course on U.S. President Donald Trump.
But in his op-ed, Soros says the growth of anti-EU forces in the bloc’s biggest countries like Germany, Italy and the UK (at least until Brexit, which Soros is opposed to) before the parliament elections in late May make the threat much more urgent.
Soros points to a “competitive advantage” anti-EU candidates have in May’s elections for several reasons, “including the outdated party system in most European countries.”
“The antiquated party system hampers those who want to preserve the values on which the EU was founded, but it helps those who want to replace those values with something radically different.
“Most of us assume the future will more or less resemble the present, but this is not necessarily so.”
He went on to say the alliance in Germany is “unsustainable,” pointing out the rise of the AfD, a far-right party that wants Germany to leave the EU unless big reforms are made.
Soros, who opposes Brexit and backs an anti-Brexit group, also said the UK’s “antiquated party structure prevents the popular will from finding proper expression,” and that its two biggest political parties are fracturing from within.
Italy’s pro-EU citizens have no party to vote for, Soros wrote, and that its dominant Democratic Party fell apart when the EU made the “fatal mistake” of leaving countries where most migrants first arrive, leaving countries like Italy dealing with most of the crisis.
He closed by saying the EU can be saved if the pro-EU parties “put Europe’s interests ahead of their own.”
One can still make a case for preserving the EU in order radically to reinvent it. But that would require a change of heart within the EU. The current leadership is reminiscent of the politburo when the Soviet Union collapsed – continuing to issue edicts as if they were still relevant.
The first step to defending Europe from its enemies, both internal and external, is to recognize the magnitude of the threat they present. The second is to awaken the sleeping pro-European majority and mobilize it to defend the values on which the EU was founded. Otherwise, the dream of a united Europe could become a 21st-century nightmare.