What’s bad for Trump is good for Le Pen

Anger at the rising cost of living spells danger for incumbents everywhere. By MARION SOLLETTY in Paris Photo-illustration by Gibson Kochanek for POLITICO Beware the angry voter. That’s the message Europeans are taking from the crushing defeat suffered by Donald Trump’s Republicans in the U.S. midterm election.

The fury over the cost of living that helped propel the U.S. president to power has now turned against him. And with elections looming in heavyweight EU countries like Spain, Italy, France, Greece and Poland, Trump’s fate is a warning for incumbents across the continent. Growing anger over rising prices and unaffordable housing is likely to spell trouble for Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has already faced waves of protests over the cost of fuel.

The blowback in the U.S. shows what happens when right-wing populist leaders take charge and then don’t deliver on their promises, said Irene Tinagli, an Italian member of the European Parliament from the opposition Democratic Party. “Trump came up with the promise of lowering the cost of living.