The ongoing economic crisis in Europe has brought the European financial system under much scrutiny. By now, perceived flaws in that system have been well-documented, and much of that documentation — understandably — has focused on economic and financial issues. But economics and finance do not exist in a vacuum; in Europe and elsewhere, one cannot separate the economic from the political, and indeed the economic crisis is producing notable political developments on the European continent. The role of nationalist political parties, in which the crisis has endowed a sense of validation, is one such development. Episodes of economic instability tend to engender nationalist discourse.