Once you choose hope, anything’s possible. ~Christopher Reeve
? ????
Is it just me or did I really hear a universal sigh of relief when it became officially known that Emmanuel Macron had just been chosen by the French voters to become the next president of France?
It was a decisive rejection (65% vs. 35%) of extremes in favor of moderation. It was also an oblique rebuff to Trumpism and its ill-thought-out policies. The pathetic Utopists of the Left and the rabble-rousers of the Extreme Right were convincingly turned down by the French Electorate.
Nobody is quite sure if the vote was more a rejection of the malodorous National Front or a seal of approval for the newcomer, but this is totally immaterial. He won the Presidency fair and square.
The French have been an unhappy lot for quite sometime. High unemployment (up to 13% in some areas) high cost of living and insecurity have significantly dimmed their vaunted “joie de vivre”.
They (like anybody else in the world) aspire to basic necessities: full-time employment, decent wages, reasonably priced housing and affordable healthcare. None of those are a reality today. The main culprit is thought to be unemployment.
Due to its ridiculously litigious labor code, it has become extremely difficult for any Frenchman to secure a permanent job. No job translates into unhappiness, restlessness and ultimately, lawlessness.
The main obstacle to reforms have been the unions but “Earlier this year, the moderate CFDT overtook the militant CGT as the strongest union in the private sector. For the first time there is a possibility of a reformist majority within the French unions,” said Moec of Bank of America Merrill Lynch.”
If Macron can convince the unions to loosen up their headlock on labor laws, everything is possible. Macron’s style is a gradual approach to solving problems but without quick results on the economy, he could struggle to deliver.
To his credit Macron is also a proponent of “equal pay for equal work” (requirement that men and women be paid the same if performing the same job in the same organization).
He also promised to have an equal number of men and women in his cabinet. This is refreshing, especially in notoriously macho French politics.
Some people have been wondering about his marriage to his wife Brigitte who is 24 years older than he is. In my opinion this was an extremely gutsy decision for both of them, for not everyone was so accepting of their relationship. And guts are what are needed for the extremely difficult task of managing the French presidency.
Best wishes to a daring young man and his equally daring and stylish missus!
Alain