Merkel Steps Up Contest for EU’s Future With Attack on Populists
- Dueling rallies pit establishment against nationalist forces
- Salvini urges a Trump-style ‘fiscal shock’ for Europe
Matteo Salvini speaks in Milan, May 18.
Photographer: Francesca Volpi/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Europeans against falling sway to populists, evoking the continent’s wars in a proxy showdown with Italy’s deputy premier before voters have their say next week.
On a day when far-right politics brought down a government in Austria, Merkel stepped up her message that only the European Union’s established parties could protect liberal values and seven decades of prosperity built up since World War II.