The Republican Bloc succeeded in its intent: the right was stopped. And let it be a party. After the night, however, things can be read differently, more clearly. In substance, not in form since no one had predicted the holding of Macron’s party and the victory of the Popular Front, it went as it had to go. The right alone never had a single chance of winning because of an electoral law that penalizes those who isolate themselves and rewards those who unite (that double round that the Democratic Party, not by chance, would also like so much in Italy). As it was clear that the real problems would begin immediately after the left’s party.
Melenchon and Macron can’t stand each other; the only thing they have in common is their aversion to Marine Le Pen and her party; for the rest, they disagree on everything. And it is clear that when yesterday, perhaps taken by the ecstasy of success and escaped fear, the leader of the Popular Front asked for the leadership of the country, he was lying with his program, knowing full well that he was lying. Alliances, as we know, are more composite, the less stable they are; the more fragmented they are, the more difficult it will be to find a unity of purpose on what to do. Everyone knows it, the Paris Stock Exchange explained it well, which did not celebrate today, it did not go up in the name of the new (anti-Semitic) left in power; no. It closed flat, worried about the evident lack of stability and perspective. How can we blame him? On foreign policy, there is an abyss between Macron and the extreme left, with the former close to Israel and the latter pro-Palestine. Not to mention NATO, a strong point for the president, a word not even to be uttered by the pacifists across the Alps. Not to mention domestic politics: Melenchon wants to tackle the pension reform recently wanted by Macron; in addition, a minimum wage and other public-state subsidies are needed.
It is difficult to say today whether Macron had a good idea with this early vote or not; if the sole objective was to stop Le Pen, well, it must be said that the goal has been achieved. If instead the idea is to have a more stable and stronger France then the defeat is clear.
But a lesson from the vote also comes for Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella. Closing oneself behind the attack on the alliance of shame is useless. The left at every latitude uses this tactic, and will always use it. It is therefore necessary to broaden the horizon by thinking, even on the right, about alliances otherwise we will continue for decades with successes in the first round and defeat in the second. In this, Meloni can be an excellent teacher having been patient within a center-right alliance that then took control, effectively removing the various ghosts of international isolation and return of the fascist regime in the first two years of government.
A modern right, Atlanticist, pro-European to the right (in the sense that one stands in Brussels with one’s head held high, no longer with one’s head bowed). A winning and governing right. Relative majority in the country (among other things, RN has 33%, Fratelli d’Italia today is below 30%) but also majority in Parliament.
