Macron and not le Pen, at least not for now
Reeling from the Brexit shocker and US President Donald Trump's aggression, the European Union (EU) has reason to cheer with the election of middle-of-path Emmanuel Macron as the new French President. The EU was terrified over the prospect of far-right Marine le Pen winning the presidential contest and succeeding François Hollande. le Pen's strong views on globalisation, cross-border trade, immigration etc are well known, and the EU members saw them as damaging to the prospect of the Union's unity. On the other hand, Macron had been an international banker, a champion of the free market — although some suspect him of left-leanings, which is not accurate since he is a favourite whipping of the left too — and a strong votary of the EU. He had served as the Economy Minister in Hollande's Cabinet and is generally well-regarded, if considered somewhat dull. Throughout his campaign, his supporters waved the French as well the EU flags, and this pleased the EU members no end. It's thus not surprising that there has been gushing praise from the West over the French electorate's choice. It must be admitted that Macron is the right person to continue with France strong ties with the EU and that le Pen's arrival would have led to disruption — even if for a while and not to the alarmist extent it had been generally projected. The election result indicates that the people in France are not prepared as yet to take a chance with le Pen's belligerent domestic and international politics, although many may have been sympathetic to the larger issues she has raised. le Pen has had considerable support among the working class and she has over the years worked on their socio-economic disenchantment. Added to this was her trenchant nationalism, which too appealed to sections of the populace. Put together, these, however, failed to give her victory. To an extent, Macron's somewhat diluted position on the way to deal with the EU and internal security implications, helped; he had expressed a demand that the European Union deploy some 5,000 European border guards on the bloc's passport-free travel zones.
le Pen's loss — and the earlier defeat of Austria's leader Norbert Hofer, who was widely expected to win — does not mean the end of the far-Right's dream of electoral successes this year. The Netherlands has a strong leader of this political thought waiting to spread his wings, Geert Wilders. It’s possible that he may achieve what other far-Right leaders elsewhere in Europe could not. Then there is the looming figure of Nigel Paul Farage in the UK (he believes le Pen’s moment is only a few years away). In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel is having sleepless nights because of rising pressure from the Right parties and their leaders. Therefore, there is no running away from the rise of the far-Right anymore. The Rightists (not to be confused with the kind in the Indian context) in Europe are not going to fade away; in fact, they believe they have only now begun coming into their own. Centrist and left-leaning leaders in Europe cannot take things for granted as before. One mistake from them, and the le Pens and the Hofers will bounce right back. It's both a challenge and an opportunity.