Latest news with #Bardella
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Soft-focus interview positions Bardella as leader-in-waiting of France's far-right
French far-right leader Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally (RN) party, addresses the audience at a political rally for May Day in Narbonne, France, May 1, 2025. REUTERS/Manon Cruz/File Photo PARIS - Jordan Bardella, the 29-year-old wunderkind of France's far right National Rally (RN), says he grew up wanting to be Superman, or James Bond. These days, he dreams of marrying a tall brunette with a strong personality. Bardella was profiled on "An Intimate Ambition", a Sunday night primetime TV show short on tough political questions but long on the kind of personal vignettes that could broaden his appeal for 2027, when he could well be the RN's presidential candidate at the expense of his mentor, Marine Le Pen. She and Bardella have forged one of France's most formidable political tag teams in recent years, fusing her experience with his youthful drive to transform the once-taboo RN into France's largest single parliamentary party. But the woman once widely seen as a front-runner for 2027 has seen her chances of contesting a fourth presidential election collapse after receiving a five-year political ban in March for party financing offences. She has appealed and insists she remains the RN's 2027 candidate. But Bardella, who spearheaded the RN's parliamentary election campaign last year, has been quick to say he will run if she cannot, and the French press has been awash with speculation about a rift. Stephane Rozes, head of the political consultancy Cap, said Le Pen's ban had boosted the RN's free-market wing, who prefer Bardella's pro-business views to her more statist, socially oriented policies. "The uncertainties surrounding the candidacy have sharpened the differences in approach," Rozes said. Audience data suggested over a million people watched Sunday's show, which presented a softer, more approachable version of Bardella, featuring teary chats with his parents and workouts in the gym. Recent trips to the United States, Israel and Abu Dhabi appear designed to counter suggestions that Bardella lacks foreign policy experience. REAL OR IMAGINED, LE PEN-BARDELLA RIVALRY LOOMS Several opinion polls taken since Le Pen's conviction have put her neck-and-neck with Bardella in a putative 2027 first-round vote, suggesting voters do not view her as irreplaceable. Le Pen has become increasingly prickly about Bardella. Last week, during a visit to the restive French overseas territory of New Caledonia, she sneered: "I'm not sure Jordan knows New Caledonia's problems very well." "I assure you," Bardella replied the same day, "I understand the overseas issues very well." RN officials dismiss talk of tensions. "The media are on the lookout for a statement from Marine or Jordan to support the story they're imagining," said RN lawmaker and spokesperson Laurent Jacobelli. "They support each other, and I don't think the rumours affect our leaders." Louis Aliot, RN mayor of the southern city of Perpignan, said Le Pen's focus on New Caledonia demonstrated how they complemented each other. "Marine has been following the New Caledonia situation for almost 20 years," he said. "Jordan has never been there. That means he doesn't know it like she does." But while RN officials deny the idea of a rift in private too, they acknowledge Le Pen may be unable to overturn her ban, and say Bardella would be a formidable candidate. "Either can win," said a senior RN official, declining to be named. In "An Intimate Ambition", which was filmed before Le Pen's conviction, Bardella was coy about 2027, but less so about his competitiveness in sport. "I really like to win," he said. "I don't like to lose." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Soft-focus interview positions Bardella as leader-in-waiting of France's far-right
By Elizabeth Pineau PARIS (Reuters) - Jordan Bardella, the 29-year-old wunderkind of France's far right National Rally (RN), says he grew up wanting to be Superman, or James Bond. These days, he dreams of marrying a tall brunette with a strong personality. Bardella was profiled on "An Intimate Ambition", a Sunday night primetime TV show short on tough political questions but long on the kind of personal vignettes that could broaden his appeal for 2027, when he could well be the RN's presidential candidate at the expense of his mentor, Marine Le Pen. She and Bardella have forged one of France's most formidable political tag teams in recent years, fusing her experience with his youthful drive to transform the once-taboo RN into France's largest single parliamentary party. But the woman once widely seen as a front-runner for 2027 has seen her chances of contesting a fourth presidential election collapse after receiving a five-year political ban in March for party financing offences. She has appealed and insists she remains the RN's 2027 candidate. But Bardella, who spearheaded the RN's parliamentary election campaign last year, has been quick to say he will run if she cannot, and the French press has been awash with speculation about a rift. Stephane Rozes, head of the political consultancy Cap, said Le Pen's ban had boosted the RN's free-market wing, who prefer Bardella's pro-business views to her more statist, socially oriented policies. "The uncertainties surrounding the candidacy have sharpened the differences in approach," Rozes said. Audience data suggested over a million people watched Sunday's show, which presented a softer, more approachable version of Bardella, featuring teary chats with his parents and workouts in the gym. Recent trips to the United States, Israel and Abu Dhabi appear designed to counter suggestions that Bardella lacks foreign policy experience. REAL OR IMAGINED, LE PEN-BARDELLA RIVALRY LOOMS Several opinion polls taken since Le Pen's conviction have put her neck-and-neck with Bardella in a putative 2027 first-round vote, suggesting voters do not view her as irreplaceable. Le Pen has become increasingly prickly about Bardella. Last week, during a visit to the restive French overseas territory of New Caledonia, she sneered: "I'm not sure Jordan knows New Caledonia's problems very well." "I assure you," Bardella replied the same day, "I understand the overseas issues very well." RN officials dismiss talk of tensions. "The media are on the lookout for a statement from Marine or Jordan to support the story they're imagining," said RN lawmaker and spokesperson Laurent Jacobelli. "They support each other, and I don't think the rumours affect our leaders." Louis Aliot, RN mayor of the southern city of Perpignan, said Le Pen's focus on New Caledonia demonstrated how they complemented each other. "Marine has been following the New Caledonia situation for almost 20 years," he said. "Jordan has never been there. That means he doesn't know it like she does." But while RN officials deny the idea of a rift in private too, they acknowledge Le Pen may be unable to overturn her ban, and say Bardella would be a formidable candidate. "Either can win," said a senior RN official, declining to be named. In "An Intimate Ambition", which was filmed before Le Pen's conviction, Bardella was coy about 2027, but less so about his competitiveness in sport. "I really like to win," he said. "I don't like to lose."
France 24
27-04-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Far right's poster boy Bardella to run for French president if Le Pen is barred
Jordan Bardella, the leader of France's far-right National Rally (RN), said he would stand for president in 2027 with the backing of Marine Le Pen if the three-time presidential candidate was barred from taking part, in an interview published Saturday. Le Pen, the long-time standard bearer of the French far-right, suffered a stunning blow in late March when a court convicted her and other party officials over an EU parliament fake jobs scam. As well as being handed a prison sentence and a fine, she was banned from standing for office for five years with immediate effect, even pending her appeal. She hopes now the appeal will be heard rapidly and can quash or amend the conviction, allowing her to stand. But in an interview with Le Parisien, Bardella, still only 29 and seen as Le Pen's protégé, gave the clearest indication yet that he would be the RN candidate for president if she was unable to stand. "There is no ambiguity about the fact that Marine Le Pen is my candidate, but that if she was prevented from running tomorrow, I think I can tell you that I would be her candidate," he told the newspaper. "I cannot be clearer than that," Bardella said, emphasising "the overriding necessity to be united". Macron's camp mulls successor Le Pen, who scented her best ever chance to win the Élysée in the 2027 polls when President Emmanuel Macron must step down after serving two terms, had planned to be president with Bardella as her prime minister. But Bardella said: "What we expect from a potential prime minister and a presidential candidate are qualities that are more or less quite similar." The contours of the 2027 election, set to be a key turning point in French modern history, remain unclear across the political spectrum just two years ahead of the poll. A centre or centre-right figure backed by Macron could emerge as the main challenge to the far right. Former premier Édouard Philippe has said he plans to stand while another ex-premier, Gabriel Attal, may also be weighing a campaign. High-profile Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin, who previously served as interior minister, on Friday made clear his interest in standing. "Do I want it? Yes. Do I have the project? I'm working on it," Darmanin told the Voix du Nord daily while emphasising there were "several" likely candidates from the centre and it is "our responsibility to have a single candidate".
Local France
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Local France
Far-right Bardella says he would stand for French president if Le Pen barred
Le Pen, the long-time standard bearer of the French far-right, suffered a stunning blow in late March when a court convicted her and other party officials over an EU parliament fake jobs scam. As well as being handed a prison sentence and a fine, she was banned from standing for office for five years with immediate effect, even pending her appeal. She hopes now the appeal will be heard rapidly and can quash or amend the conviction, allowing her to stand. READ ALSO: Will there be more elections in France in 2025? But in an interview with Le Parisien, Bardella, still only 29 and seen as Le Pen's protege, gave the clearest indication yet that he would be the RN candidate for president if she was unable to stand. "There is no ambiguity about the fact that Marine Le Pen is my candidate, but that if she was prevented from running tomorrow, I think I can tell you that I would be her candidate," he told the newspaper. "I cannot be clearer than that," Bardella said, emphasising "the overriding necessity to be united". Le Pen, who scented her best ever chance to win the Elysee in the 2027 polls when President Emmanuel Macron must step down after serving two terms, had planned to be president with Bardella as her prime minister. But Bardella said: "What we expect from a potential prime minister and a presidential candidate are qualities that are more or less quite similar." The contours of the 2027 election, set to be a key turning point in French modern history, remain unclear across the political spectrum just two years ahead of the poll. Advertisement A centre or centre-right figure backed by Macron could emerge as the main challenge to the far right. Former premier Edouard Philippe has said he plans to stand while another ex-premier, Gabriel Attal, may also be weighing a campaign. High-profile Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin, who previously served as interior minister, on Friday made clear his interest in standing. "Do I want it? Yes. Do I have the project? I'm working on it," Darmanin told the Voix du Nord daily while emphasising there were "several" likely candidates from the centre and it is "our responsibility to have a single candidate". READ ALSO: OPINION - The race to defeat the French far right in 2027 starts now
Time of India
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Far-right shift on anti-Semitism sparks unease, even among Jews
After a past marked by anti-Semitism , far-right parties now often portray themselves as defenders of Jews , but critics accuse them of shifting their stance solely for political gain. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Last month several far-right leaders travelled to Israel for a government-organised conference on combating anti-Semitism. They included Jordan Bardella, president of France's National Rally; Kinga Gal, an MEP for Hungary's Fidesz party and Milorad Dodik, the leader of Bosnia's Serb-dominated territory Republika Srpska, who is an ally of Vladimir Putin and wanted by Interpol. "Hatred of Jews and the state of Israel is a global scourge that we must fight relentlessly," Bardella said, repeating his party's new mantra that the National Rally (RN) "is today the best shield for our compatriots of Jewish faith". Such statements stand in stark contrast to views expressed by Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of the RN under its former name the National Front, who famously called the Holocaust "a detail of the history of World War II". His daughter Marine Le Pen , who pushed him out of the party as part of her reform drive, marked her distance from her father "concerning all forms of anti-Semitism", said Nonna Mayer, a political scientist at France's CNRS research body. Marine Le Pen, who now heads her party's parliamentary group, had already embarked on a policy dubbed "de-demonisation" when Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023. The assault presented the RN with an "unexpected opportunity to exploit anti-Semitism so they could position themselves as the defenders of Jews in France and Israel", Mayer said. Zero tolerance, safe space Similar rhetoric is heard elsewhere in Europe among identity-based right-wing parties, for whom immigration into Europe is a top policy issue. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now In Hungary, President Viktor Orban promotes what he calls a "zero-tolerance" policy toward anti-Semitism and boasts of offering the "safest lands in Europe" for Jews. In Germany, Beatrix von Storch, a parliament member for the far-right AfD party and the granddaughter of Adolf Hitler's finance minister has promised Jews a "safe space" should her party win power. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in January accused the fascist government of Benito Mussolini of "complicity" in the Holocaust, calling the fight against anti-Semitism "in all its forms, past or present" a priority for her government. Mayer said the policy shift across European far-right parties was linked to them seeing Islamism as "the number-one peril". "The fear of Islamism brings them all together," she said. "Or perhaps, for some, it is simply about Islam and Muslims in general." In Jerusalem, Bardella said there was "a link" between "the rise of Islamism, the resurgence of anti-Semitism, and the migratory phenomenon that is splitting all Western societies". However, not all rank-and-file followers of far-right parties have adopted their leaders' support of Jews. "Among National Rally sympathisers the change is far from complete," said Mayer. The same goes for Italy, where several members of Meloni's far-right Fratelli d'Italia party have been accused of making anti-Semitic statements. Anti-Muslim feelings The new trend among far-right leaders is, meanwhile, sparking mixed reactions among Jews themselves. Serge Klarsfeld, a French Holocaust survivor who became famous for hunting down former Nazis, said before France's parliamentary election in 2024 that he would vote "without hesitation" for the RN over the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party, which has been accused of sympathising with Islamists. But Yonathan Arfi, president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France, has accused Bardella of "politically exploiting" the fight against anti-Semitism as part of the RN's strategy "to win power". The Central Council of Jews in Germany meanwhile urged voters not to back the country's main far-right party, saying that "the only function of Jews in the AfD's platform is to express anti-Muslim feelings in the party". A similar debate exists in the United States, where President Donald Trump serves as a model for many European far-right figures. In the name of combating anti-Semitism, the Trump administration has overseen the arrest of pro-Palestinian students and cut $2.2 billion in funding to Harvard, a prestigious university. Amy Spitalnick, chief executive of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, told the New York Times this month she was doubtful about the motivation behind the administration's push to combat anti-Semitism. "It's about exploiting concerns about anti-Semitism to undermine democracy," she said.
