The many heads of the European crisis

Another cause for concern is that the leader of the far-right political party National Front Marine Le Pen attracted almost 20% of the vote in the first round of the French presidential elections.

The National Front has a platform that is staunchly nationalistic and anti-immigration and is usually regarded as a party on the fringes of mainstream European politics.

To put the performance of Ms Le Pen in perspective, incumbent Sarkozy attracted just over 27% of the vote.

When the sovereign debt crisis first erupted, particularly in Greece, there was serious conjecture about whether the European Union and its common currency the Euro would survive.

During meetings with senior political leaders from across Europe, I have been told repeatedly there Is sufficient political determination within Europe to ensure there was no breakup of the union.

Germany and France in particular have been strong and vocal advocates for the measures taken to date designed to stabilise the situation.

There are now growing doubts about the ability of Europe's political establishment to ensure it manages the ongoing problems and avert an hour of reckoning.

President of the European parliament Martin Schulz reportedly said in recent days that he believes the collapse of the EU is now a distinct possibility.

There are also growing concerns about the sheer scale of the economic challenges and whether they represent a threat to social and political stability.

While the economic problems in Greece are well documented, unemployment in Spain is approaching levels of the Great Depression, with 25% unemployed and up to 50% of young people unemployed.

Against this backdrop, Britain has also slid back into double-dip recession with divisions expected to increase within the Coalition of Conservative and left-leaning Liberal Democrats.

Powerful forces are at work within Europe that will be hard to resist, and populist politicians will inevitably take advantage of the concerns of the voting public.