Macron: France's new face
- By Sajjad Malik
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail China.org.cn, May 9, 2017
|
|
|
Emmanuel Macron greets supporters in front of the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, on May 7, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua] |
France has given its verdict in the historic presidential run-off vote on Sunday. Emmanuel Macron, aged 39, became the youngest head of state since Napoleon Bonaparte more than two centuries ago.
He now faces numerous economic and security challenges.
The former investment banker and finance minister polled 64 percent against the 34 percent of his far right rival Marine Le Pen. He can perhaps be permitted a few moments to relish his tremendous success before getting down to handling the problems.
It is a generational change. Macron is not from the traditional political parties that dominated the political landscape for decades. That is why he was not burdened by the need to use the typical politico-economic nationalism to woo voters. He just talked sense, giving hope and shunning divisive ideas.
His election shows that the gradual drift of Europe and other societies towards radicalism in not inevitable. People are fed up with the traditional ways of politics and the exaggerated promises of power-hungry political magicians. They want change but not necessarily by going back to narrow national narrative, or riding a wave of extreme xenophobia.
Calls to shut the door on immigrants attract some, but not all. Nationalism should not mean hating others. It should be a creative process, raising people to a level where they can enjoy happiness and share it with others.
Some call it globalism. Hence, if it was confrontation between a globalist and traditional nationalist in France, then the former has clearly carried the day.
There is a comparison with Barack Obama. Though not as young as Macron, Obama was able to create hope in people that produced an election result that defied logic. Why would a dominant white majority stand behind a virtually untried colored candidate when men like John McCain were in the running?
The electorate rejected the establishment, as they had already done by preferring Obama to Hillary Clinton in the primaries.
Obama talked about hope and opportunities and got the people on his side. He was elected, but struggled to deliver, hardly able to move out of the hands of the establishment represented by the Pentagon and State Department.
At the end of his eight years, he was not that much different from his predecessors – a degree of economic prosperity and couple of high points on the foreign front, including killing of Osama bin Laden in 2011.
Macron used same recipe, but in his own style. Can Macron deliver a new, better and safer France over the next five years? It all depends on the choice of policies, selection of a core team of advisors and a mechanism to turn ideas into action. It means changing the "system."
He told an election rally in southern town of Pau that France's progress had been blocked by the "self-serving tendencies of its elite." Now, he has to work with that same elite. If he goes back to the age-old methods of wheeling and dealing, he might be doomed. Outright confrontation could unleash waves of protests on streets. Hence, he will have to find a method for his madness if he wants to make changes that will have long-term impact on the lives of common people.
He has some advantages. First, he has the reputation of being an untiring worker who doesn't need much sleep. His training as a private banker is also helpful. Second, the traditional left and right are in disarray due to the worst defeats in any French election. Therefore, no lethal political encounter should bother him in the first couple of years at least.
His main obstacle is fixing old thinking – rooted in the traditional leftist social model – within the official hierarchy. Whether it is job security or working hours and retirement benefits, the new president will have to reform several sectors. The gradual rise of extremism is another formidable challenge. So far, most countries are trying to address the issue through increased surveillance and targeted actions against sleeper terrorist cells. However, that's like trying to plug the holes in a leaking water storage tank, when the incoming stream is not being checked.
No one is a born extremist or terrorist. There are reasons, some general, others specific, that explain the growth of radicalism. France should look at the "why" factor attracting its citizen towards hate ideologies.
Macron has a chance to change the traditional handling of extremism. If he fails, then no one may be able to stop Marine Le Pen or her ideology in 2022.
Sajjad Malik is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:
http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/SajjadMalik.htm
Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)