Macron Is Mulling a Risky Choice for a Divided Electorate
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Bonjour et Bienvenue to the Paris Edition. I'm Bloomberg Opinion columnist Lionel Laurent. If you haven't yet, subscribe now to the Paris Edition newsletter.
It's been a week of political shocks for Poland and the Netherlands, where uneasy coalitions are being pulled apart in a time of Trumpian politics and weaker economic growth. In France, by contrast, things are looking relatively calm despite a clearly divided electorate. Which begs the question: Why is Emmanuel Macron's administration considering changing how elections work?
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"But this approach becomes a race to concoct more elaborate fantasies, to tell bigger lies, than the other party. And thus a downward spiral into more ignorance and superstition. And when the fantasies go poof and the lies are exposed, that 'working class' becomes more and more cynical and less and less trusting of politicians. Not a good ethos for a representative democracy." —Skip Christensen 2."Democrats, yes, but not what you think. It was the 6 million pearl-clutching Democrat voters that voted for Biden, then chose to sit at home this last cycle." —Dwayne Rabideau Related: This Senator's Clap Back Fully Gagged An MSNBC Anchor, And The Clip Is Going Viral 3."Sanders is correct as to what the Harris campaign 'should' have run on policy-wise, but Harris didn't, and doesn't, really have enough of a broad-based constituency, which would have resulted in getting the votes necessary to win a national election." —Ronnie Goodson 4."Bernie is, basically, saying that Harris didn't have an effective campaign but how effective is it for Bernie to take his 'Fighting Oligarchy' tour to London where, except for Americans living in the UK, a very small percentage of the people living there, people can't vote in American elections? As for Harris spending too much time with Liz Cheney, as Bernie is saying, I don't know if that's true because, outside of them appearing together in Wisconsin, I'm not aware of how much time they were together. Would have been a mistake to spend too much time with Liz, but also a mistake to spend no time with her." "As for his other criticisms of Harris's campaign, I know that she mentioned the minimum wage, but, as we all know, it takes Congress to get anything done on that, and they haven't seemed inclined for many years. At least not enough of them. As for celebrity endorsements, I don't value them, but I don't agree that they hurt. Especially Beyoncé's." —Carl Hayman 5."So, how effective was Bernie when he ran for president? Oh, wait, he lost in the primaries, yet he presumably did all the things he accuses Harris of not doing. Folks here are making it seem that Harris was clobbered by Trump. She lost by 1.49%, the slimmest margin since Nixon-Humphrey. Let's be blunt and honest — the electorate is at fault." "Four million fewer voters showed up compared to 2020. Eighty-nine million registered voters never voted, more than either candidate received in total votes. Willful ignorance and apathy led to a really stupid political decision. Let's move on and fight the good fight to thunderously shout for all to hear: 'ENOUGH! Trump is a psychopathic authoritarian and must be stopped.'" —Dan Rothwell 6."Harris may not have succeeded with her messaging, but Trump knew how to scare the dumbest among us, and that's what resonated. You'll never go broke betting on the stupidity of half the country." —That Guy Related: This Republican Lawmaker's Embarrassing Lack Of Knowledge Of The Term "Intersex" Went Viral After He Proposed An Amendment To Cut LGBTQ+ Funding 7."You mean the 'Opportunity Society' and 'We're not going back' didn't stir the hearts of people living paycheck to paycheck, who can't afford healthcare, and who each month are squeezed through rising prices and inflation? Why, I'm really." —Pacific Blue 8."K. Harris's first run had her as too far left, and the last run she was boxed in by convention, running against a sitting president she served under. On her other flank was this big donor push reining her in on policy. Her VP choices only added more drag on performance, no matter who her camp chose. Many objectives achieved, but ultimately, she couldn't carry it off. Now we all bear the weight of a Trump presidency." —Transplant West 9."'Democrats can only blame themselves for the results of the 2024 election.' Truer words were never spoken." —Sheikh Yerbouti 10."The Democrats mounted the single worst campaign in living history against Trump. Harris gave every indication as VP that she was not a viable candidate and then went on to prove it. So far, it doesn't look like they've learned anything." —Sherman Berman 11."Not helpful. Keep blaming the Dems when the GOP and the ultra rich spent decades planning, the unholy relationship with evangelical Christians, the ruining of unions, setting up entities like the Heritage Foundation, getting their judges in place, and carefully crafting the message that socialism was coming à la the Dems, all while the seeds of fascism were sown insidiously." —Tanya Cabala 12."'I ran all over the country trying to elect Kamala Harris and begged them: Talk to the needs of the working class. Talk about raising the minimum wage to a living wage...' What Sanders doesn't get is that Democrats are as reluctant to do any of that as Republicans are. Politicians answer to the people who own them: the donor class. No one else." —Tom Sutpen 13."I like Sanders, but I definitely disagree with him on this point, and his comments are not helpful at all. For those 'Bernie Bros' who are still salty that the DNC didn't back him in the 2016 primaries, this is an insight as to why. The man is not a Democrat. So why should he have ever gotten the nomination to be the Democratic candidate?" —Chad M 14."Regardless of whether or not Kamala Harris spoke on issues, the overall impression of her campaign was more like The View than a serious, professional campaign. Less dancing and 'joy' might have made people take her more seriously. I voted for her. I definitely think she would have been a good president. But her campaign came off as presidential-lite!" "I think that female political leaders outside the US come across as having more credibility — they seem to act with more inherent confidence and dignity — as if they expect to be taken seriously. And they win. Does anyone think that's true?" —B A 15."While I agree Cheney was a huge misstep, Kamala talked about all that other stuff. Americans didn't care." —F. N. 16."Of course Bernie is spot on. These establishment Dems will continue to use the same old consultants, pollsters that got them to a 25% approval. Recently, liberal super PAC Future Forward hosted a gathering of Dems in the Ritz-Carlton resort in wealthy Half Moon Bay, California, to apprise donors on what went wrong in 2024. What kind of message does that send?" —Tommy Tomtom 17."Or, maybe it was because Kamala only ran for 100 days and Trump has been running since 2015." —J. K. Doyle What do you think? Sound off in the comments. Responses have been edited for length and/or clarity. 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Oh, wait, he lost in the primaries, yet he presumably did all the things he accuses Harris of not doing. Folks here are making it seem that Harris was clobbered by Trump. She lost by 1.49%, the slimmest margin since Nixon-Humphrey. Let's be blunt and honest — the electorate is at fault." "Four million fewer voters showed up compared to 2020. Eighty-nine million registered voters never voted, more than either candidate received in total votes. Willful ignorance and apathy led to a really stupid political decision. Let's move on and fight the good fight to thunderously shout for all to hear: 'ENOUGH! Trump is a psychopathic authoritarian and must be stopped.'"—Dan Rothwell "Harris may not have succeeded with her messaging, but Trump knew how to scare the dumbest among us, and that's what resonated. You'll never go broke betting on the stupidity of half the country." "You mean the 'Opportunity Society' and 'We're not going back' didn't stir the hearts of people living paycheck to paycheck, who can't afford healthcare, and who each month are squeezed through rising prices and inflation? Why, I'm really." "K. Harris's first run had her as too far left, and the last run she was boxed in by convention, running against a sitting president she served under. On her other flank was this big donor push reining her in on policy. Her VP choices only added more drag on performance, no matter who her camp chose. Many objectives achieved, but ultimately, she couldn't carry it off. Now we all bear the weight of a Trump presidency." —Transplant West "'Democrats can only blame themselves for the results of the 2024 election.' Truer words were never spoken." "The Democrats mounted the single worst campaign in living history against Trump. Harris gave every indication as VP that she was not a viable candidate and then went on to prove it. So far, it doesn't look like they've learned anything." "Not helpful. Keep blaming the Dems when the GOP and the ultra rich spent decades planning, the unholy relationship with evangelical Christians, the ruining of unions, setting up entities like the Heritage Foundation, getting their judges in place, and carefully crafting the message that socialism was coming à la the Dems, all while the seeds of fascism were sown insidiously." —Tanya Cabala "'I ran all over the country trying to elect Kamala Harris and begged them: Talk to the needs of the working class. Talk about raising the minimum wage to a living wage...' What Sanders doesn't get is that Democrats are as reluctant to do any of that as Republicans are. Politicians answer to the people who own them: the donor class. No one else." "I like Sanders, but I definitely disagree with him on this point, and his comments are not helpful at all. For those 'Bernie Bros' who are still salty that the DNC didn't back him in the 2016 primaries, this is an insight as to why. The man is not a Democrat. So why should he have ever gotten the nomination to be the Democratic candidate?" "Regardless of whether or not Kamala Harris spoke on issues, the overall impression of her campaign was more like The View than a serious, professional campaign. Less dancing and 'joy' might have made people take her more seriously. I voted for her. I definitely think she would have been a good president. But her campaign came off as presidential-lite!" "I think that female political leaders outside the US come across as having more credibility — they seem to act with more inherent confidence and dignity — as if they expect to be taken seriously. And they win. Does anyone think that's true?"—B A "While I agree Cheney was a huge misstep, Kamala talked about all that other stuff. Americans didn't care." "Of course Bernie is spot on. These establishment Dems will continue to use the same old consultants, pollsters that got them to a 25% approval. Recently, liberal super PAC Future Forward hosted a gathering of Dems in the Ritz-Carlton resort in wealthy Half Moon Bay, California, to apprise donors on what went wrong in 2024. What kind of message does that send?" "Or, maybe it was because Kamala only ran for 100 days and Trump has been running since 2015." —J. K. Doyle What do you think? Sound off in the comments.
