Europe is facing a season of political turmoil in its North and South.

In the U.K. and Italy, charismatic right-wing leaders are pursuing high-risk bids for greater power that entail clashes with the European Union, potentially disrupting their nations’ economies and Europe’s already faltering growth.

The British economy is already taking a hit from the risk of a chaotic Brexit on Halloween, the latest date set for the U.K. to leave the EU. The U.K. economy, the world’s fifth largest, contracted at an annualized rate of 0.8% in the second quarter as business confidence plunged, according to data released on Friday.

It was Britain’s first quarterly contraction since 2012.

The weak data, and political turmoil over Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s determination to take the U.K. out of the EU on Oct. 31, pushed the British pound down to a multiyear low of $1.2057, before it recovered somewhat.