Rolling out change anywhere in the world needs to take the long path of consensus. Macron forgets that a democratically elected representative is answerable to each one who votes
I had to rejig my travel plans last week to make a trip to Delhi. A delegation from my alma mater, Sciences-po Paris, was visiting the Capital and my newly acquired position as the democratically elected President of Sciences po alumni India made me feel somewhat obliged to be there. In my tiny political capacity, I felt answerable to the voters — 150 men and women, ranging from age 25 to 70, living across India, bound together by their French experience.
The amicable French Ambassador to India, Alexandre Ziegler, had opened the doors of his residence to the alumni community to meet the French delegation over great wine, tiny hors d’oeuvres, and — predictably — a few speeches. In her short talk — and with the backdrop of violent clashes in Paris that look to be the worst since 1968 — the charming Professor Vanessa Scherrer attempted to strengthen Franco-Indian ties.
A clever speech by Enrico Letta, Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences Po and former Prime Minister of Italy, suggested that smartphones have changed politics forever. Indeed, voters get instant news on their finger tips, they impulsively share their political views — woes — wants, or simply ‘thumbs up’, ‘thumbs down’, ‘wow’, ‘heart’ policies and their elected representatives. Our digital hyper connectivity makes it easy to swiftly move into political action. To plan a political agitation, a secret midnight rendezvous is replaced by a closed Facebook group event. Door-to-door campaigns have given way to a call to action on Twitter.
And so, a week ago, the Sciences-po alumni in India had voted for their President via a weblink. Last year, President Emmanuel Macron’s election campaign had been powered by social media, now much like the protesters who are on the streets against him.
The ‘yellow vest’ movement started on November 17, with 282,000 protesters, leaving one dead, 409 wounded, and 73 in custody. It was initially against a rise in duties on diesel, widely used by French motorists and which has long been less heavily taxed than other types of fuel. Macron had said higher taxes on fossil fuels were needed to fund renewable energy investments. The protesters adopted the name for their movement after a social media campaign urging people to take to the streets wearing the high-visibility yellow jackets that must be carried in every vehicle in France.
Last weekend, although in smaller numbers, the protesters were still on the streets. There were slightly more than 2,000 in Paris. In Bordeaux, more than 4,500 protesters turned up despite showers of water cannon from the police to disperse them. A similar number protested in Toulouse. In Nantes, around 1,200 protesters were fired by tear gas, as they were in Avignon and Besançon. This week too the protests have continued. The movement has now expanded over other issues, including calls for higher wages, lower taxes, better pensions, easier university entry requirements, and so on. The protesters were frustrated about the overall economic situation in France, especially the economic policies rolled out by Macron who is being perceived as anti-poor and pro-elite.
According to a recent story by
The Economist, Macron is looked upon by most French folks as too haughty. In a poll by Ipsos, the approval for Macron by French citizens has slipped another two points in the last month, to 23 per cent. The proportion of people who declared themselves “very dissatisfied” by his leadership jumped by six points to 45 per cent.
Macron has made some bold policy changes, akin to none that France has seen in many decades. He has made a few long-needed reforms to make the labour market more flexible. His education reforms created smaller classes in poor areas and greater citizens’ control over training. The rise in taxes on diesel is to fund renewable energy. Yet he did so without involving the rest. He singlehandedly delivered to the French all the changes that he felt were the best for them. He did not pause to explain enough. When he slashed taxes on wealth, he did not offer more help for the poor or sufficiently explain to them why the old wealth tax was inefficient, incentive-sapping, and bad for France in the long run. Macron forgets that a democratically elected representative is answerable to each one who casts a vote. There is little wrong with his policies, yet plenty at fault with his attitude.
Rolling out change anywhere in the world, in governance or in business, needs to take the long path of consensus. Drawing up a list of policies (however great) or to-dos, without effective communication with the affected group, thrusting the changes upon the group, forcing them to implement and bear the consequences, fast tracks change but is unsustainable. With such a method, the changes desired will not last. Moreover, a changemaker’s hasty actions with poor communication will always leave some section of people who will feel left behind, uninvolved, deceived. And so, metaphorically speaking — and to Dean Letta’s point — indeed the smartphone has transformed governance. People can share grievances quickly about policies and can organise themselves to protest on the streets. But easy connectivity these days also makes it easier for politicians, such as Macron, to connect much more with citizens, empathise, effectively communicate with them, receive feedback, and defend his tough policies when required!
This week, Macron turned 41. He woke up to probably his worst birthday gift ever — the streets of Paris littered with burned-out cars, smashed glass, and police everywhere. We hope that France’s gift to him does not detract him from making bold reforms, but instead have a maturing effect on his attitude.
The writer is the CEO of Sustain Labs Paris, the world’s first sustainability incubator. She is a Global Leadership Fellow alumna of the World Economic Forum. miniya@labsparis.com