In the run-up to the European parliamentary elections later this month, the populist parties in Europe are slowly but surely gathering momentum to alter the political landscape. They are threatening to overturn the consensus that parties do well by fighting on the political centre ground. EU officials fear that anti-European parties could win as much as 30 per cent of the vote!

The economic recovery in Europe does not seem to be eroding support for the populist parties. The UK is a case in point. Its economy is growing more rapidly than most developed economies across the continent and yet UKIP power continues to rise. The grievances of its supporters seem too deeply ingrained to be dispelled so easily by a few weeks of good economic news.

So far, the coalitions of disenfranchised voters that have given UKIP some success have not yet translated into complete success at Brussels. However, there may well be a different outcome this time round. The dominant figure in UKIP has set about building a more professional party structure, with the same embellishments that the Maltese Labour Party succeeded in putting in place in the last general election.

Nigel Farage has targeted Conservative strongholds where it has succeeded in building a solid base of campaigners. Enthusiastic populist and anti-European supporters have mushroomed in the south where politicians of both the Conservative and the Liberal parties are worried that UKIP is managing to erode support for them.

Only last week, one of Farage’s supporters was quoted as having declared: “We have to win these elections or the party is over. UKIP will be finished if it doesn’t garner enough votes to win the race and come out on top!”