Italian Prime Minister Calls Populism a Threat to Stability in Europe

Enrico Letta

INTERNATIONAL NEW YORK TIMES: ROME — With European parliamentary elections less than eight months away, Prime Minister Enrico Letta of Italy on Monday warned that the rise of angry populism poses the greatest threat to stability on the Continent and could undermine critical efforts to build and strengthen the euro zone’s political and financial institutions.

“We have the big risk to have the most ‘anti-European’ European Parliament ever,” Mr. Letta said in an expansive interview at Palazzo Chigi, his office in central Rome. He said mainstream, pro-Europe parties must win at least 70 percent of the seats to avoid a “nightmarish legislature.”

“The rise of populism is today the main European social and political issue,” Mr. Letta added. “To fight against populism, in my view, is a mission today — in Italy and in the other countries.” » | Jim Yardley | Tuesday, October 15, 2013