Voters have a new relationship with capitalism

There is a good piece in this morning's FT by Philip Stephens who tries to fathom out the vote in the European election in the face of recession

The policies of the left,ie insulation and protectionism were shunned in favour of laissez faire capitalism and any backlash came in the form of the protest vote for the right and in the UK for Ukip.

He concludes that

The voters want it both ways: protection against the unavoidable insecurities of economic integration and access to all the advantages of globalisation. But whoever said electorates were consistent? The answer is active rather than big government – calculated to preserve open markets while providing a buffer against the shocks.