Uncertainty, for example, is born of the fear of a loss of employment or of not being able to respond to today’s fast pace of change. But it is also born of the fear that governments themselves have been pushed to the sidelines as globalisation has proceeded. Recent election outcomes around the world bear witness to this fear.
The more exposed individuals are, the more likely a political backlash. Governments can mitigate these effects. Unlike the United States, however, the European Union is not a federation. This means that, as a rule, stabilisation and the provision of security in the form of social services takes place first at national level. Keeping governments solvent is a precondition for achieving that.