Analyst: Italy's Swing to the Populist Fringe Is Deeply Disturbing for the E.U.

The European Union can swing from euphoria to crisis in the blink of an eye. Just a few months ago, French President Emmanuel Macron was wooing liberal acolytes in the European Parliament with his vision of a European renaissance, a continent rebounding from the woes of the past with the kind of radical reform needed to win over a new generation.

This week, one of the worst fears of the bloc may come to pass: a populist government at the helm of a founding member of the E.U.