In fact, many observers viewed the 2016 presidential election result in the US as one of many examples – albeit a key one – depicting a general shift of voters in advanced economies towards populist politics and policies, including a rejection of several key tenets of the wave of globalisation over the past few decades.
The growing hostility towards these tenets – including free trade, free capital flows, and easier crossborder movement of labour – was seen at its strongest in continental Europe. With key elections scheduled throughout 2017, not least in France and Germany, observers feared a move towards populism that had the potential to torpedo the already delayed eurozone economic recovery.