Malankazooie, on 24 April 2022 - 05:02 PM, said:
Macron will probably win... early reports of relatively low turnout seemed concerning, but it's now looking like turnout won't be low.
He's a bit like Bill Clinton (lurching the center left to the right), but with Hillary's likability (if Hillary were better looking and more charismatic, but meaner and more condescending)... and triangulating with the 'culture war' far right.
'No French president has been the object of such intense dislike among significant segments of the population as [...] Macron — [...] his image as an elitist out of touch with the ordinary French people whose pensions and work protections he has threatened in his efforts to make the economy more investor-friendly.
Even Macron enthusiasts wince at what have become known as his "little phrases": dismissive remarks to voters who bemoan their circumstances, or sometimes about less successful people in general.
"Like when he told someone, 'You're searching for a job? Just cross the street and you'll find one,'" [...]
Just how deep that loathing runs will be a critical factor — perhaps even the decisive one[...]
[...] given the choice between a president they find disdainful and a far-right candidate they find detestable, many French voters may just stay home, or even vote for Ms. Le Pen, tipping the scales in a close election.
[...] he little phrases had been "catastrophic" in forging Mr. Macron's image[...]
[...] "It's about the relationship between a disdainful elite and a society that is disdained,"'
Live Updates: Voting Underway as France Chooses Between Macron and Le Pen - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Marine Le Pen Would Destroy French Democracy (jacobinmag.com)
This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 24 April 2022 - 05:23 PM