At last, populism in Europe is losing its mojo

Hollywood casting directors do not get to vote for European heads of state. But if they did, they would plump for Petr Pavel. Square-jawed and white-haired, the 61-year-old Czech looks every bit the airborne platoon leader turned top NATO general, then aspiring statesman: think Eisenhower or de Gaulle, special-ops variant. Mr Pavel’s countrymen also saw the appeal, handing the retired soldier a decisive 58% win in a run-off for the Czech presidency on January 28th. Even more enthused at Mr Pavel’s triumph were those Europeans fretting that populism had become an unstoppable force across the continent. The liberal, pro-EU Mr Pavel trounced Andrej Babis, a billionaire elite-bashing understudy of Donald Trump. It is but one election in a mid-sized European country. But it marks another blow for the narrative of European politics shifting inexorably to extremes.