By UME
“The union between the Reconquete and the Rassemblement National?
Your constituents hope so, but they are the only ones!
It is enough to see and hear those responsible for
these two movements:
contempt on the one hand, hatred on the other…”.
Interview with Philippe Randa, director of the European travel information site EuroLibertés.
Finally, in this presidential election, everything seems to have turned out as the polls had been predicting for months: a second round of Macron-Le Pen and an unsurprising re-election of the incumbent president…
So much so that one might consider not voting in elections: it costs money, it wastes time and more and more people are losing interest in it… Since the polls announce the result months in advance, it might be worth considering to save time and money, right?
Are you serious?
Almost… Or one could address a serious issue of electoral ethics: to what degree polls do not influence opinion, especially with the leitmotif of the “useful vote” preached long before and during election campaigns, which apparently shapes and unifies a segment of the public prevents others from moving; is that really tolerable? Is the cost of an election campaign reasonable? All those millions of euros wasted on mostly insipid propaganda, empty phrases and demagogic promises – a maximum of 16 million euros per candidate, not to be exceeded in the first ballot, and 22 million euros for those qualified in the second ballot, which mostly be reimbursed by the French taxpayer -, while, among other things, our hospital services are on the ground? That’s “problematic”, isn’t it? No? Oh I see!
Would you want to abolish elections?
If one in three voters abstains and the elected – or in this case re-elected – President is elected by only 28% of 2/3 of the electorate, is it really that absurd to mention it? But well, we’re not that far yet, are we? Well, not that far yet, but…
Seriously, we are now…
My suggestion is not meant seriously? Oh I see!
… we are now, I said, in the general election campaign. The calls for “unification” on the left as well as on the right seem to be echoing in vain at the moment?
And for a good reason! On the left, how not to endure the dominance of La France insoumise (almost 22% of the vote) when weighing less than 2% (PS) and less than 5% (EELV)? The PS is gambling for its existence and the environmentalists for its survival… On the right, the Republicans – a majority of deputies and even voters already aligned with the Macronie – are also gambling for their survival, if not their very existence … The reshaping of the political landscape is on the way, but it will only really become visible after the parliamentary elections, when an accurate count of the dead, the crippled… and the actual winners will be possible.
And the union between the Reconquete and the Rassemblement National?
Your constituents hope so, but they are the only ones! One only has to see and hear those responsible for these two movements: contempt on the one hand, hatred on the other… The leaders of the Reconquete half-heartedly declare that Marine Le Pen is just as incompetent as her lieutenants… and those of the Rassemblement National never tire, calling Reconquête executives “extremists” or even worse! Éric Zemmour fits the logic of his speech of promoting the unification of the right, but if the RN accepted this, the Republican MPs, tempted to support Reconquête, would immediately back down.
And above all, they are not addressing the same voters… Back in 2017, between the two rounds of voting, Marine Le Pen addressed only left-wing voters, especially those of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, without a word, a thought or a gesture towards the François Fillon’s voters… For the two finalists, however, the voters of all the other candidates – almost 20% of the voters – are a negligible quantity.
Marine Le Pen has increased by 7 percentage points compared to 2017…
Unless Emmanuel Macron is down 7 points… What difference does that make in the end?
How do you assess the future?
I never make predictions… There is no point in delivering rods to be beaten: anyone who dares usually makes a fool of themselves. However, it is possible to make some remarks. Century with the insane management of the Covid (and not with the attacks of September 11, 2001, it should be repeated), this presidential election is shaping a new political arena in France. As was the case in 2007 and 2012, by the way, since we’re basically replaying 2017’s in 2022…
The political arena is a field of rubble with its dead: Pécresse, Hidalgo, Jadot; it is hard to believe that they will personally recover from such an electoral fiasco into which they have dragged their respective party – unless the opposite is the case… The same goes for Dupont-Aignan or Roussel: the first has its previous small result more than halved, the other thought he would “buzz” to finally get 2.2%! As for Lassalle, Poutou and Artaud, they will no doubt continue to entertain the gallery (which, admittedly, he is very good at) while the other two preach their respective Grand Evenings in a vacuum, because that’s what they’re used to…
What about those who crossed the 5% mark?
Marine Le Pen and Jean-Luc Mélenchon have pledged not to run for a fourth time…unless events force them to give us their candidacy again, some wretches are already giggling. Emmanuel Macron has already shown color by proposing – like Marine Le Pen, incidentally – to return to a seven-year term… If this is the case, his tenure at the Élysée Palace will be all the longer. Will Eric Zemmour be able to keep his troops, his leaders, and the 120,000 members of Reconquête in line, and retain and profitably use his two million voters? Be that as it may, in addition to the competences, strengths or handicaps of the individual politicians, there is also the state of France,
Whatever the cost, unfortunately…
Philippe Randa has just published Une société de suspicion généralisée (A society of general suspicion) with the Dualpha publishing house, with a foreword by Jean-Claude Rolinat.
This article first appeared on EUROLIBERTÉS , our partner in EUROPEAN MEDIA COOPERATION.