Euro crisis could lead to extremism warns Clegg

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has warned that Europe will see a rise in political extremism and xenophobia if the continent fails to tackle the ongoing eurozone crisis.

Mr Clegg also admitted that the public have lost faith in the EU “as a whole” resulting in his European project facing a “huge” crisis of confidence.

In an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel, ahead of his visit to Berlin this week, the Liberal Democrat leader criticised the current situation in Europe, commenting on the constant economic problems faced by the European countries along with the change in leadership.

He said: “Everybody should be more active. At the moment, what’s happening is that you have one emergency summit after another, you have one election after the other, and you have one bail out after the other.

“This cannot carry on because the combination of economic insecurity and political paralysis, we know this from the history of our continent, is the ideal recipe for an increase in extremism and xenophobia.

“I, as a passionate Liberal and pro-European, think it would be a disaster if a lack of grip and a lack of comprehensive solution were to lead to a push towards the extreme Right or the extreme Left.”

He also underplayed the debate in UK over whether the Britain should join the euro zone labelling it a “small side-show compared to the rise of political extremism”.

Mr Clegg’s warning came as David Cameron issued an ultimatum to the Greek people that fresh election must decide once and for all whether the country stays in the eurozone, insisting that failure to provide clarity over Greece’s future in Europe could prove disastrous for the world economy.

The Prime Minister also urged the eurozone leaders to be prepared for either of the possibilities to keep the economies “safe and stable”.

Rajeeb Gurung