The refugee crisis that has struck Europe is the worst the continent has seen since the Second World War, and with it has come the resurgence of political parties that have not enjoyed this kind of support since 1945.
Support for far-right —and to a lesser extent far-left— parties has spiked in recent months as hundreds of thousands of refugees have come to Europe and a huge chunk of the population has once more felt their concerns were ignored or belittled by the ruling political class. [...]
The "contagion risk" from the UK to the rest of the continent is still possible too. Le Pen announced last week that if elected she would hold a referendum on France's membership of the EU. In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders' far-right anti-EU Dutch Freedom Party keeps gaining in popularity as well.
The aftermath of the UK referendum in Britain has also had the opposite effect in other European countries. Seeing the chaos brought about in Britain, support for the EU has surged in a number of countries throughout the continent. [...]
Risks appear more linked to referendums on a ratification of a new EU treaty or other EU-related issues, rather than questioning the EU membership outright, as support for EU membership appears fairly rooted. Only 21% of the people surveyed by Ipsos MORI in nine EU countries wanted to leave the EU... Even where protest parties are gaining momentum, it appears unlikely that they will garner sufficient votes to muster a majority.
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