Waiting for Le Pen

With pressure rising on President Emmanuel Macron to step down, the political spotlight at Paris is fixed on the head of the rightist National Rally, Marine Le Pen, and her lieutenant, Jordan Bardella. Can they rise to the occasion? The mood of the nation has tilted toward the right, with polls showing the National Rally in first place in the event of new elections. It marks an opportunity to reform not only France but Europe as a whole. Mr. Bardella, who is being eyed as a possible prime minister in the event the National Rally succeeds in legislative elections — or if Madame Le Pen captures the presidency — appears to grasp the weight of the moment. He links his party’s momentum in France to “his ability to upend the traditional EU order too,” Politico reports. “France is in the process of freeing itself from Macronism; it is time to break with Macron’s Europe as well,” he said. Yet Monsieur Macron’s term runs until 2027, and it’s far from certain he would abandon the trappings of what he has described as France’s “Jupiterian” presidency. Yet the calls are intensifying after the resignation of Mr. Macron’s third choice as prime minister since last year’s legislative elections, Sébastien Lecornu. On Monday a former premier, Edouard Philippe, dropped what Le Parisien called a “political bomb” by urging Monsieur Macron to quit.Mr. Philippe — who served between 2017 and 2020 as Monsieur Macron’s first premier — averred that the president “must take the decision that is worthy of his function” by “leaving in an orderly manner.” Madame Le Pen, too, agrees that Monsieur Macron would be “wise” to step down. Even if the president remains at his post, though, she describes new legislative elections as “absolutely necessary.” Some 61 percent of the nation agrees, a recent poll finds. Mr. Bardella says the National Rally is “ready to govern,” and if the most recent polling proves accurate, the rightist bloc could get the chance, though the two-round voting process could be a hurdle. The National Rally is the most popular party in France, Politico finds, with support from 32 percent of the nation. In second place is the far-left New Popular Front, led by the militant Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Monsieur Macron’s Ensemble has but 15 percent. No doubt bolstered by such polls, Madame Le Pen insists on the need “to dissolve the National Assembly.” France24 suggests the nation is at a “historic crossroads” with a presidential election on the horizon for 2027 — if not sooner. Yet with Madame Le Pen appealing her conviction on embezzlement charges — a case of lawfare, French style — it remains to be seen whether she, or Mr. Bardella, will be the National Rally’s electoral standard bearer.The choice could be decisive. Madame Le Pen, on economic issues, seems tethered to her father’s short-sighted policies by, say, refusing to consider trims to France’s generous welfare state. The elder Le Pen, too, these columns have noted, had failed to realize that French unemployment stems not from “too many immigrants but from too much socialism,” and it’s unclear if Madame Le Pen is more astute on this head.Mr. Bardella, by contrast, models himself on Italy’s dynamic rightist, Giorgia Meloni, calling her “living proof that popular will can prevail in the ballot.” He calls for slashing regulations imposed by European Union bureaucrats and, Politico reports, concedes “the need for cuts in social spending to put France’s public finances back on track.” This agenda, along with an embrace of tax cuts, could steer France — and Europe — back toward prospérité.

Waiting for Le Pen

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