Matteo Salvini of Italy
© REUTERS / Alessandro GarofaloFILE PHOTO: Matteo Salvini of Italy (R), Marine Le Pen (C) of France and Heinz-Christian Strache of Austria give a thumbs up.
Anti-establishment Eurosceptic parties are preparing to make a splash during next month's European Parliament election. But some see their rise as evidence of successful interference by Russia.

The 750 MEP seats will be up for grabs in May, and various anti-establishment forces on either side of the political spectrum are forging alliances to gobble up the shares currently held by centrists. Adding to the confusion is Britain, which will take part in the election despite supposedly working hard to leave the EU.

But for some European and international officials, the problem seems to be Russia secretly supporting Eurosceptics - not the disconnect between political elites and the people they are meant to represent. Blaming the looming electoral failure on Kremlin trolls (without offering a shred of evidence, of course) is as tempting in 2019 Europe as it was in 2016 America.