Miltos Sakellaris
THE Emmanuel Macron he was walking smiling approaching the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The diary wrote April 24. On Easter day. Next to him his wife and several young children. He had “clearly” defeated Marin Lepen in the second round presidential elections with a significant difference. The expression of confidence in his eyes was great.
He went up to the podium and sent a message of unity, a message in all directions: “I am the president of all the French”. Now the road he has to travel is quite difficult, full of “thorns”. The diplomatic situation automatically creates many difficulties for both him and the European establishment. George N. Tzogopoulos, senior fellow at ELIAMEP and the Begin Sadat Center in Israel and lecturer in international relations at the European Institute of Nice and Luiss University in Rome describes on the main reasons why the French president’s course for the next five years at the Palais des Elysées will not be easy at all.
“His match with Marin Lepen was not as easy as in 2017 but his victory was clear. Political continuity is now taken for granted both internally in France and in its international relations. However, the challenges remain many. The Parliamentary Elections June will be the first test for the French president after his re-election. For the past five years he has managed to rule with a majority in the French National Assembly of 577 seats. “The chances of it succeeding again are high, although much will depend on the discussions in the coming weeks between the parties and possible collaborations between them,” said the professor of international relations.
The biggest problem he is called to face immediately, as Mr. Tzogopoulos explains in skai.gr, is that of abstention from the upcoming parliamentary elections: “The abstention in the parliamentary elections of 2017 exceeded 50%. Judging by the abstention in the second round of last Sunday’s presidential election, which reached 28%, it is considered extremely unlikely that French citizens, especially young people, will change their tactics in June. This means that perhaps the party “La République En Marche!” Macron and those who support him take advantage of the low turnout by investing in the participation of older voters who usually appear at the polls. “Otherwise, the French president will be forced to resort to cohabitation.”
Regardless of the outcome of the parliamentary elections, the biggest issue that the French society is the increase of inequalities. “The analysis of the financial and professional situation of Macron and Le Pen’s voters is a matter of concern. The French president relies mainly on high-paid, job-satisfied and educated citizens, while the leader of the “National Alarm” in the working class, unemployed and less educated citizens. “Macron’s difficult mission is to heal the wounds and give vision, especially to those voters who chose the far-right solution because of the complex economic situation, which is being exacerbated by the Ukrainian crisis.”continued George Tzogopoulos.
Certainly, as the professor underlined, the Macron election It was particularly reassuring for Europe to watch with bated breath the possibility of the election of the far right, Marin Le Pen. A possibility that frightened even the most cautious international analysts. “European Union-level celebrations of the outcome of the French elections are legitimate. The political earthquake and the beginning of a new, unpredictable chapter in France’s relations with Brussels, and with the world in general, were avoided. Nevertheless, Macron’s re-election was largely based, as happened in 2017, on the deconstruction of her political opponent, her far-right ideology, and the general past of herself and her father. In a France, however, where the two traditional parties, the Republicans and the Socialists, are almost completely wiped out politically, the emergence of new politicians who will have the “charisma” of Donald Trump and possibly replace Le Pen in the coming years can not be ruled out. . Eric Zemour has tried it in recent months – without much success. In any case, invoking the ghost of the far right in favor of other political forces is not a recipe for eternal success. “And the French people themselves are already getting tired, as opinion polls show.”stressed Mr. Tzogopoulos.
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