My take-away from the French presidential election

This year, most of my countrymen voted against Macron and against Le Pen instead of voting for either of them in large numbers. They simply didn’t like the choice offered to them. 

Macron prevailed because the majority of the French voters are smart enough to understand that a Le Pen presidency would be akin of Putin or Trump’s. Sadly, issues weren’t discussed as they should have, as the main focus was the extreme polarization between the two candidates and what they represented. 

One of Macron biggest problem is not only that he lacks charisma, but also that he’s been unable to shed his pretentious attitude, making him a polar opposite of former president Chirac. 

Among many topics, what was conspicuously absent of the election was an honest assessment of Emmanuel Macron performance of his pandemic management. France counted 31% more deaths compared to Germany, 43% compared to Holland 43% and a whopping 76% more than Norway. Clearly, Macron should have done better than that! 

This said, the French president did very well by working closely to Germany’s Merkel in forcing the EU to support every member state through that medical emergency. Of course, Macron’s victory and his ability to govern will hinge greatly on the results of the upcoming legislative elections slated for mid-June. 

Until then, many things will remain unsettled in my native country...