91Èȱ¬

Ed Balls heads to Europe as part of a three-part 91Èȱ¬ Two series, to discover why so many people are rejecting mainstream politics. On his travels, the former politician immerses himself in the lives of everyday voters to find out what’s behind this populist revolution - and the potential consequences for Europe’s future.

In the final episode, Ed Balls heads to Italy and France to explore the role that the financial crash, and increasing globalisation, has played in fuelling the rise of both right and left-wing populism across the continent.

Ed’s journey begins in Milan, the wealthiest city in Italy and the base of the former deputy prime minister, Matteo Salvini. His party, Lega, have risen to power in part by promising the Italians a huge €10m tax break - in direct opposition to the EU’s austerity plans. Ed meets fashion entrepreneur and multi-millionaire Valeria to find out whether wealthy voters like her support Salvini’s stance. Ed witnesses the pulling power of Valeria’s social media strategy – an approach echoed by Salvini himself – and strips bare for a very revealing beauty treatment.

In sharp contrast, Ed travels to one of the poorest regions of the country, Calabria, where residents voted in their droves for another populist party, Five-Star, but one that, unlike Lega, is left-wing. Ed stays with local farmer Tomasso and his family to find out why the farming community here voted for anti-EU party and against an open market. He’s sharply woken at the crack of dawn to help milk the cows and do a shift running the farm, before plunging into a local mountain pool to experience his ‘Calabrian baptism’.

The next leg of Ed’s trip takes him to France. In the town of Caudry, he meets Daniel, a lace worker in what used to be a thriving industry,
producing fabric for Madonna and Michele Obama, but is now facing competition from China. He discovers that Marine le Pen has increased the vote for her rebranded National Rally party in areas like these by promising to protect French industry from the threat of foreign traders. After a game of petanque, a sport similar to boules, Daniel reveals to Ed that he’s flirting with voting for Le Pen – in spite of what some view as a deeply controversial past. Will Daniel overlook the accusations of racism aimed at Le Pen for the entirety of her political career, in the name of saving his job?

Finally, in Marseille, Ed joins a Le Pen activist, Emmy Font, as she campaigns in the city. Emmy works for the local National Rally senator and says that the number of immigrants coming to the city has put too much strain on local services. On the eve of the European elections, Ed joins Emmy at the polling station to find out what the future holds for European politics.