Who Will Lead France Out of This Mess? Nobody
The nation needs a little more Erasmus and a lot less Machiavelli after elections that produced no majority.
French leftist leader Jean-Luc Melenchon.
Photographer: FRANCOIS WALSCHAERTS/AFPThe author Stefan Zweig once wrote that European politics has for centuries been a struggle between two schools of leadership: The common good espoused by humanist Erasmus, and a more self-interested pursuit of power promoted by Machiavelli. It’s the former that France desperately needs to embrace if it’s going to break the gridlock of a hung parliament and get its economy back on track.
Snap parliamentary elections on July 7 showed French voters remarkably united on keeping far-right leader Marine Le Pen out of power but divided on everything else: While Le Pen’s National Rally came third behind a left-wing bloc and Emmanuel Macron’s centrists, none of them won a majority. In countries more used to coalition governments, this would be an immediate trigger for compromise and negotiation across the aisle to build bigger partnerships. A moderate Left, Greens and centrists tie-up would potentially be only a few seats short of controlling the legislature.