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2017 European general elections


StefanAVFC

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13 minutes ago, Dr_Pangloss said:

Admittedly he's not an easy one to pin down, a lot of his policies strike me as slightly right of centre (i.e. Tory) but he is partial to the old left wing dog whistle.

That's largely because he doesn't have a consistent position other than going for the position that his canvassing says is likely to win him most votes. I'm amazed that it's Le Pen and Melanchon being described as populists and not Macron.

I think people should be more worried about him being president than they otherwise seem to be. He isn't Le Pen, thankfully, but if the mood in France became necessary for him to become something like Le Pen then I fear he'd do it at the drop of a hat.

Edit: Benn would have had him down as something of a weathercock.

Edited by snowychap
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my knowledge of French politics is rather  , well actually very , limited , but doesn't the president chose the PM and then need approval from the Parliament 

I seem to recall Chirac had such a  problem  as parliament didn't approve his choice   ?

so can Macron  (or Le Pen , don't they have 2 seats ?)  actually deliver seeing as they aren't represented in Parliament ?

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16 minutes ago, tonyh29 said:

my knowledge of French politics is rather  , well actually very , limited , but doesn't the president chose the PM and then need approval from the Parliament 

Yes, the President is elected then we have parliamentary (legislative) elections two weeks later. The President is sworn in, forms cabinet and names a PM.

24 minutes ago, tonyh29 said:

I seem to recall Chirac had such a  problem  as parliament didn't approve his choice   ?

Not exactly, Chirac dissolved parliament for anticipated legislative elections in a gamble to boost support for his conservative economic program. He lost the elections and then had to choose a left-wing PM.

35 minutes ago, tonyh29 said:

so can Macron  (or Le Pen , don't they have 2 seats ?)  actually deliver seeing as they aren't represented in Parliament ?

Macron's "En Marche"(EM)  is still a young political party that doesn't have enough viable candidates for the legislative elections and will have to "transfer" some members from the two traditional parties.

On the other hand, Marine Le Pen's FN have had really strong scores in the past few elections (25-30%), but the two round election system has them facing a coalition which has largely kept them out of parliament. 

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Just now, Demitri_C said:

Does Le Pen really have a chance of winning this? Surely if so this suggests the French public want out the EU as well as I am sure that will be the first thing she will try and do

it could come down to that exact choice , as Macron seems to want to go in even deeper with the EU ... in at least he's  playing the old "reform" card ..hope he has better luck than Cameron did with that :) 

 

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1 minute ago, tonyh29 said:

it could come down to that exact choice , as Macron seems to want to go in even deeper with the EU ... in at least he's  playing the old "reform" card ..hope he has better luck than Cameron did with that :) 

 

If France leave along with the UK what chance has the EU got? I expect Greece to follow soon 

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18 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

If France leave along with the UK what chance has the EU got? I expect Greece to follow soon 

If France left (it won't) the EU would collapse rather than other countries then also leaving.

From a UK perspective Macron is likely to continue Hollande's hard line punitive approach over Brexit negotiations, but that's probably better than the alternative of France leaving NATO and leaning towards Russia under Le Pen. 

As many pundits have speculated a term of Macron may only delay rather than prevent the ascent of FN given the structural challenges he needs to address, and his lack of a Parliamentary party to deliver them - but then a lot can happen in 5 years.

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urgh what a rubbish choice for the french. Macron being pro EU would be the only consolation for me, the rest of him sounds like a pretty depressing neoliberal bore, who'd not change a thing. Wouldn't surprise me if Le Pen does rather better than many expect. She'll lose, but bugger me. Macron oddly enough may have that Clinton effect - despite being completely all new and everything ) doesn't represent much change. If you're a leftie over there, what do you do? Stay at home I guess. 

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43 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

Does Le Pen really have a chance of winning this? 

Not really. It would be a far bigger upset, in pure polling terms, and given the limited time available, than Labour winning the GE (which also isn't going to happen). 

She will probably double her father's total though, which is depressing enough. 

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20 minutes ago, TreeVillan said:

It's amazing how many people on here want Macron to win, seeing as he stated he will punish the British public for choosing to leave the EU. 

the choice is between Macron or Le Pen, so yes, most people here want Macron to win.

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23 minutes ago, TreeVillan said:

It's amazing how many people on here want Macron to win, seeing as he stated he will punish the British public for choosing to leave the EU. 

(heresy/) The EU isn't that important to the U.K. either way in the grand scheme of things (/heresy) but NATO is. 

As Brexit negotiations progress those disposed to harm the UK will realize the implications of being seriously unfriendly and much of the rhetoric will be quietly shelved. 

Le Pen is a menace to European security in a way not seen since 1945. Macron is of no consequence in comparison.

Edit: To clarify I mean Le Pen is a threat to the internal cohesion of the western alliance, not an existential threat like the Soviet Union. 

 

Edited by Awol
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46 minutes ago, Awol said:

(heresy/) The EU isn't that important to the U.K. either way in the grand scheme of things (/heresy) but NATO is. 

As Brexit negotiations progress those disposed to harm the UK will realize the implications of being seriously unfriendly and much of the rhetoric will be quietly shelved. 

Le Pen is a menace to European security in a way not seen since 1945. Macron is of no consequence in comparison.

Edit: To clarify I mean Le Pen is a threat to the internal cohesion of the western alliance, not an existential threat like the Soviet Union. 

 

Well France only joined NATO in 2009 under Sarkozy, so it's hardly a historical member...

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18 minutes ago, FrenchVillaLova said:

Well France only joined NATO in 2009 under Sarkozy, so it's hardly a historical member...

#alternativefacts

It joined in 1966, so you're a way out there. 

EDIT: . . . and by 'joined', I mean 'was a founding member'

Edited by HanoiVillan
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