The former MP explores why so many people are rejecting mainstream politics across Europe in Travels in Euroland with Ed Balls on BBC2
After his Travels in Trumpland, former politician Ed Balls is now turning his attention to Europe, and in particular the reasons for the rise of so many anti-establishment ‘populist’ parties, in the three-part Travels in Euroland with Ed Balls on BBC2.
In this first episode he visits the towns of Den Helder and Scheveningen on the north coast of Holland, meeting local fishermen to find out why they are drawn to vote for a right-wing populist after EU rules and regulations have made their jobs much harder.
In Almería, southern Spain, Ed learns that the far-right Vox party, which made huge gains in the last election, has pledged to stand up for bullfighting, now banned in some parts of northern Spain.
Ed (pictured top at a bullfighting school) meets a famed local matador to try to understand the communities who defend this age-old Spanish tradition.
Ed spends time with families who feel their way of life is under threat and points out that in regions such as these it’s not difficult for populist parties to create a divide by manipulating such concerns.
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TV Times rating: ****
