YES, 2016 has been a pretty terrible year for European politics— and 2017 has all the makings of being equally gruesome. But sometimes you just have to take a deep breath and think of some of the good things still happening across Europe’s political landscape.

So here are three recent developments that have given me hope and encouragement in the last few weeks. They stand in contrast to the unrelenting waves of bad news — including Brexit — that have dominated Europe’s political agenda for the last 12 months.

But they are worth highlighting. Take Austria. After Brexit and the election of Donald Trump as the next president of the United States, many assumed that Austria would also opt for a populist politician with a message against the European Union, Islam and globalisation.

Certainly, Nigel Farage of Britain’s anti-EU, pro-Brexit UKIP party was rooting for Austria’s Far-Right candidate. But, things turned out differently, with Austrians rejecting the Far-Right presidential candidate Norbert Hofer in favour of the left-leaning Alexander Van der Bellen as president.

Second, after making people vote for much too long, Angela Merkel launched her re-election bid as German Chancellor despite criticism within her own party and the rising popularity of Far-Right politics in Germany.

Third, Britain’s Liberal Democrats notched up a stunning by-election victory in Richmond that the new MP Sarah Olney said was a rejection of the “UKIP vision” of Britain and its politics of “anger and division”.

Separately and even together, these developments do not signal a major setback for the populist lurch in European politics. But they should encourage Europe’s liberal democrats to try harder to win over sceptical citizens. And they are a blow to Far-Right politicians who have been on a roll since the Brexit referendum.

In Austria, as Julia Ebner wrote in the Guardian, the choice before voters was between “a xenophobic gun enthusiast and a green party-backed professor”. “It was a runoff between greed and solidarity, hatred and empathy, and, potentially war and peace.”

The good guy won — and his victory has given a temporary moral boost to Europe’s embattled liberal democrats. Certainly, the Austrian election results are a sign that not all European countries and not all Europeans are opting for populist politicians with an axe to grind against Europe, Islam and the world.

And yes, one could hope that Austrians will set an example for French, German and Dutch citizens when they have to vote early next year.

But it’s too early to celebrate. The political landscape in France and the Netherlands is very different. French Far-Right leader Marine Le Pen has frightened the wits of her mainstream rivals.

Former French Prime Minister Francois Fillon is now the candidate of France’s centre-right party, the UMP. But many French analysts predict that given the choice between Le Pen and Fillon, who has adopted many of the populist anti-Islam messages of his rival, voters may opt to select the real Far-Right, rather than an unconvincing imitation.

Which brings us to Merkel and Germany. Ranked by Forbes magazine as the second most powerful person in the world after Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Merkel is seen by many as the last bulwark against rampant populism that has already defeated Hillary Clinton, David Cameron and Matteo Renzi.

Both Merkel and her centre-right Christian Democrat (CDU) took a dive in popularity following her “open-door” policy, which welcomed nearly one million refugees fleeing the Middle East and Africa to Germany.

However, her approval ratings have begun to recover after she toughened her stance on immigration and on Tuesday she was re-elected leader of the CDU, winning 89.5 per cent of delegates’ votes. “Angela, you are needed in Europe,” Joseph Daul, president of the CDU-affiliated European People’s Party and member of the European parliament said at the opening of this week’s conference.

True, the German Chancellor declared a ban on the burqa, saying “Our law takes precedence before tribal rules, codes of honor and Shariah.”

But very few Muslim women in Germany wear the head-to-toe covering any way. And of course Merkel is right — integration means being part of society, not excluding yourself from it.

Finally, Britain. Sarah Onley’s victory will not mean that Brexit will not happen. The endless — and slightly nauseous — debate on Britain’s painful withdrawal from the EU will continue to cast a pall over the continent in 2017. But, Onley has demonstrated that Europe is not just about divisive figures and hate-mongerers. Those who believe in a diverse, tolerant and open Europe can still get elected. Perhaps even next year.

The writer is Dawn’s correspondent in Brussels

Published in Dawn December 10th, 2016