A follow up to yesterday's post on the European elections: Anne Applebaum, writing in the Washington Post, argues that the results were a vindication of capitalism:

In last weekend's European parliamentary elections, capitalism triumphed, at least in its mushy European form.

But how is it possible that the European right is doing so well -- and so much better than its American counterparts -- during what is widely described as a crisis of global capitalism? At least in part, the Europeans are winning because their leaders have the courage of their economic convictions. While the European continental welfare states have certainly kicked into high gear over the past six months, there are few equivalents of either George W. Bush's budget deficits or Barack Obama's spending binge. And where there have been -- in Britain, for example -- the high spending has hardly bought popularity.