Mainstream political parties rattled by EU elections

UKIP’s success in the UK’s European elections mirrored a surge in eurosceptic trends across Europe. Populist parties in France, Netherlands, Spain and Greece all chalked up big gains reflecting an undercurrent of discontent and frustration with the mainstream political parties. Politically, this would appear to present David Cameron with a brief opportunity to start the long-promised re-negotiations with the EU, starting with his request for new candidates for the new European Council president to compete with the current federalist candidates of Jean Claude Junker (EPP) and Martin Schultz (Socialists). If he fails to promote a candidates akin to Irish PM Enda Kenny or Polish PM Donald Tusk, it may seriously undermine his promise of a 2017 referendum. The FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 index continued to recover from last week’s falls.