EU hopes to emerge stronger than ever after ‘undesirable’ Brexit as it battles Russia, Covid and the far-right

“If Le Pen or – God help us, Zemmour – wins, then the EU is plunged into crisis. That is the nightmare scenario,” says John Springford, the deputy director of the Centre for European Reform (CER) in London.

...“If Orbán wins again, then he will be emboldened to continuing suppressing dissent,” Mr Springford says. “If he loses, champagne corks will pop in Brussels, as it shows pro-European forces can win – although it will not mean that populism is gone.”