It looks like a semblance of normality has returned to European politics, while McCarthyism is still running rampant in the US. Le Pen was soundly defeated, though her showing was far stronger than that of her father’s in the early 2000's. Much like the results from the Netherlands, we’ve seen the political far right has greatly expanded its base, but has a ceiling with the broader public. This is not too surprising. They represent a nativist strain with a history of open hostility towards certain ethnic groups. While people from all political backgrounds may see economic dislocation caused by immigration as a problem, broader society is generally uncomfortable placing blame on specific minorities, at least in recent years. Outside of the intricacies of French politics, the larger trends are a bit more visible. The election represents a major win for the Eurozone’s prospects. Le Pen had threatened to follow Britain and leave the EU, which would be catastrophic for the single market experiment.

So all is well? Not exactly. Though things seemed to have settled in the debt markets, people forget the plan was to largely delay the reckoning and hope growth picks up in the meantime. In some cases it has and some it hasn’t. While Ireland has largely recovered and Spain and Portugal are again growing, Greece remains mired in debt with declining growth. Further, there has been little discussion on cause of the stabilized debt markets, the ECB. The bank mirrored the Fed’s past actions and set the interest rate to zero last year. This followed years of declines, allowing insolvent governments to refinance at low interest rates on short term bases. Once interest rates begin to rise, the debt crisis will inevitably rear its head as borrowing costs increase. Italy is of particular concern, as its economy is far larger than any previously bailed out and it has faced years of little to no growth. Further, it recently dealt with a major bank bailout. France’s election was an indication that there remains resolve to act in favor of the union, however, barring structural changes, the system remains unstable and will lurch from crisis to crisis.