French Presidential Election

[Hairyloon]

By 'us' I meant many of the lefties who are cheering as if he's the messiah...

 

Are they?

I have paid this election little heed, but it seems that many are cheering, not because he is the messiah, but simply because he is not the other guy.

[chalga]

Well,UKIP are finished,Wilders has been defeated and now Le Pen,looks like she has realised the common denominator here,that railing against immigrants doesn't work,so she's already doing a quick re branding and it's going to be railing against globalisation, primarily from now on.

[L00b]

By 'us' I meant many of the lefties who are cheering as if he's the messiah. <...>

I'd have to ask you to substantiate that, because I haven't seen anything suggesting it. And I take my French news at the sources and in their original language.

 

Fair point about LePen's score (...to an extent: most including myself knew weeks and weeks ago that she was going to make low 30s, it was entirely predictable in the current political and international context), but I doubt that the socio-economic issues which some of that vote represent, will be ignored by Macron: he's understood them well enough to not align himself with the old left/right political spectrum.

 

Now, whether he will be able to act on them or not over the next 5 years, that will be down to his majority (-or not) in a few weeks' time, not to him alone.

 

As you say, we shall see. At least, he's go the job now, so it's for him to deliver or not.

Are they?

I have paid this election little heed, but it seems that many are cheering, not because he is the messiah, but simply because he is not the other guy.

Many are cheering because the old guard has been done away with, and for the hope which Macron symbolises.

 

This BBC article puts it well enough in terms of describing why the young demographic cheers (i.e. for achieving 'change'), although it's misrepresentative to an extent: it may well be that many who voted for him did not take the time to acquaint themselves well enough with his manifesto, and commenting to that effect is fair enough...but that doesn't mean he doesn't have one, and a credible one at that, wherein suggesting he doesn't have one (as that BBC article seems to do) is misrepresentative.

 

Macron's plans have long been black-and-white. I daresay Brexiters would approve with a lot of it. As would Remainers. That's how and why French youth is cheering: it can hope again, and hope big, whilst rid clean of nationalist jingoism.

Edited May 8, 2017 by L00b
2nd link update, 1st one was wrong

[silentP]

It looks like there'll be plenty to watch for over the coming years for lots of us. Interesting times.

[Harrystottle]

she's already doing a quick re branding and it's going to be railing against globalisation, primarily from now on.

 

Well that won't work for the FN while someone with the name Le Pen leads it.

 

Much of the discussion really hasn't involved globalism though. If a purely anti-globalisation party were to be formed new from the ground up, it would be interesting to see how it would do.

 

Because many people would be open to the argument of "What is wrong with trying to protect the jobs of your own workers?", I think.

[L00b]

Well that won't work for the FN while someone with the name Le Pen leads it.

 

Much of the discussion really hasn't involved globalism though. If a purely anti-globalisation party were to be formed new from the ground up, it would be interesting to see how it would do.

 

Because many people would be open to the argument of "What is wrong with trying to protect the jobs of your own workers?", I think.

It would be a pointless argument, just as much as the predictions of all those already pinning hopes on a better score by Marine (or Marion) LePen in 2022: by then, Trumponomics and Brexit will have been a reality for enough years, that all voters far and wide will be able to witness first-hand what an outright rejection of 'globalisation' ("international trade", to the thinking man) entails for the average man in the street (and for the avoidance of doubt, and very ironically, Brexit isn't a rejection of 'globalisation', it's a call to embrace 'ultra-globalisation': see your PM's own words for the past 10 months, and as currently campaigning).

 

There's nothing wrong with trying to protect the jobs of your own workers, as a matter of principle. As a matter of economic (and common-) sense however, what that does is to grow the skills and productivity gap between your domestic economy and those of the world outside the door, and not in a beneficial way for the isolating economy. After that, your mileage will vary according to how much of a self-sufficient model your national economy can sustain. Not so much a problem for the US, which still has enough of everything under the sun it needs to exist. Bigger problem for the UK, which hasn't much of anything and has always lived from international trade.

Edited May 8, 2017 by L00b

[Lockdoctor]

I've said this, when we are left cheering on an ex-banker who is about to start a campaign of austerity even more cutting that what the Tories are doing SOLELY because he is pro-EU then we've lost our way. Great that Le Pen didn't win with her special brand of 'blame anyone but me' politics but given it was effectively a choice between her and ANYONE ELSE AT ALL it's really not a massive victory in anyway.

What is wrong with an ex-banker being the French President, who has been a success outside of politics?

[sgtkate]

What is wrong with an ex-banker being the French President, who has been a success outside of politics?

 

Absolutely nothing! Why would imply that from my words? I'm purely wondering why so many on the left are cheering him though as his policies are not those shared by many liberal lefties, there's a big difference between cheering anyone who defeated Le Pen (as I am) and cheering someone whose policies completely go against what most lefties support. That's all.

 

Ah, fair enough point, re-read my original post and it wasn't clear I was referring to 'left wingers' like me.

[tinfoilhat]

Well that won't work for the FN while someone with the name Le Pen leads it.

 

Much of the discussion really hasn't involved globalism though. If a purely anti-globalisation party were to be formed new from the ground up, it would be interesting to see how it would do.

 

Because many people would be open to the argument of "What is wrong with trying to protect the jobs of your own workers?", I think.

 

New party, new name then?

[Harrystottle]

New party, new name then?

 

Sorry, I didn't make myself clear. I wasn't talking about a re-branding of the Front National but rather a brand new party that opposed globalisim.