‘A perfect storm brewing’: how populists could challenge Europe this autumn

Anti-establishment parties look likely to play a significant role in elections in Slovakia, Poland and the Netherlands

The shape of three European governments could be decided by the performances of populist, far-right, or anti-establishment parties in elections this autumn, as the continent's fractured political landscape continues to splinter.

September's parliamentary poll in Slovakia, a country of just five million people, could prove critical to Europe's continuing support for Ukraine against Russia's aggression, returning to power a proto-populist, Robert Fico, who is stridently pro-Moscow.