Le Pen ‘At The Gates Of Power’ As France’s Political Center ‘Wiped Out’
Implicit in Emmanuel Macron's brazen decision to dissolve parliament three weeks ago was the notion that the far-right's outperformance in EU elections was a kind of bluff on the part of annoyed French voters. The two-round snap vote was Macron calling that bluff.
"Oh, you want crazy? I'll show you crazy!" he seemed to be saying. "Maybe you'll send fascists to Brussels, but will you pack the National Assembly with them?"
The answer, as it turns out, was "yes." Marine Le Pen's RN was set to com
The decision now before Macron and what is left of his party is to ask his party’s candidates to pull out before the second round, and tell those would-be voters to vote for the New Popular Front….in order to prevent a far-right majority control and Bardella as PM. And this after Macron has relentlessly demonized the far-left (though to be fair no one wants Melenchon anywhere near power).
But doing so would almost entirely wipe out what is left of Macron’s party in parliament. The result would be legislative stand-off….and what would that lead to in three years time and the next presidential election?
Macron deliberately blew up the major French parties when he was elected, created no new party to remain after he left the field, and now all of his major reformist actions and passed laws may be overturned if (when?) lepenisme triumphs.
Macron’s party is called Renaissance but the name should Avortement, in terms of what he’s done to French politics, his own legacy and the future of his country.
Disagreed. He didn’t destroy the PS or the Republicans. They did that themselves.
The simple reality is that, after the real or imagined failures of centrism, the French are deeply divided – a solid third or more want to give the fascists a go and blame immigration/neoliberal economics for all/most of our problems. A slightly smaller third blame the rich, the (slightly) richer than average and neoliberal economics for all/most of our problems. A still smaller third think centrism/the world is complicated is still the best bet to try and get out of our quagmire.
That’s the electoral reality. Macron and centrism command 25 to 30% of the voters. It’s hard to say they got a mandate for anything with that kind of support.
Personally, I think letting the fascists fuck it up for 3 years might not be the worse thing in the world if it prevents Le Pen from winning the presidency in 2027.