Emmanuel Macron’s refusal to accept a minority left government was a mistake. Having lost the election he needs to give ground
Wed 28 Aug 2024 19.30 CEST
Jacobin, a left-leaning media outlet in the U.S., says about France:
Emmanuel Macron Is Refusing to Allow the Left to Govern — (Archived)
Emmanuel Macron has ruled out appointing a government led by the biggest force in parliament, the left-wing New Popular Front. His refusal confirms a case long made by the Left: it’s time to get rid of the French president’s monarchical powers.
That’s a good analysis, the 5th republic and it’s constitution is completely outdated and has allowed Macron’s numerous democratic abuse
Key point:
Through a combination of tactical subtlety, daring and technocratic brio, Mr Macron has divided and ruled French politics since 2017. But by indulging his characteristic desire to remain in complete control of events, even after losing, he is acting against the best interests of the country he leads.
Plummeting trust in politics has contributed to the rise of the far right across Europe, as well as in France. Against that backdrop, refusing to grant the election’s narrow victors at least a chance to forge a consensus is unwise and shortsighted. Mr Macron has in part justified his stance by the posing of a false equivalence of extremes between Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s hard-left France Unbowed party (LFI) and Ms Le Pen’s Rassemblement National. But after repeatedly relying on a broad republican front, including LFI, to keep Ms Le Pen out of power, that is nakedly disingenuous.
