Three Lessons We Can Learn From Macron’s Gamble

When Macron announced the snap elections one month ago as a reaction to the disastrous results of his government in the EP elections, most people (including me) thought he was crazy. His decision to hold additional, legally unnecessary elections was hazardous during turbulent times when the French majority was unsatisfied and brushed for a riot. However, the snap election punished the ready-to-ramble far right, so the worst scenario could be prevented. So, what can we learn from President Macron’s brave and risky move?

Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/europe/frances-far-right-firewall-holds-signs-cracks-rcna160628

1. Don’t Take It Personal

President Macron was aware that the snap elections could cost him his job. Quite frankly, with the divided majorities we observe now in the French parliament, it is still up for debate whether he will stay in office or not.

I think this is a great virtue of leadership: Macron accepts the price of ending his presidency to do what he thinks is right for the French people. He was willing to follow the French people’s nudge to reconstitute the French government democratically, even if this cost his job.

This kind of virtue is something we don’t observe often in the political world of the 21st century. Many politicians prioritize their political careers over the will and the good of the people. Maybe more politicians should take risky decisions that might cost them their re-election but serve the people.

2. Take The Risk

Macron’s political calculation was risky. Very risky. Like many others, I also saw the worst outcome in front of my inner eye, a majority for the far right. A scenario that also Macron was aware of. But still, he took the risk, and he proved to be correct.

Without the decision to hold snap elections, the last word would have been the high gains of the far right in the EP elections, leaving a bitter aftertaste for the democratic future of Europe. The fact that the far right was placed in the last position might have served as a damper on the populist wave rolling over Europe. These troublemakers, hostile to democracy, are not thriving as much as they seem to sometimes.

Maybe we should be less afraid but braver and take political risks more often.

3. Trust The People

With the snap election, Macron pushed the choice to the people. Eventually, it was the French people who enabled the snap election results. The French people showed up en masse at the ballot boxes. The French people pulled themselves together and put their faith in the liberal and left coalitions, even though they were not fully satisfied with their performances, just to avoid the strengthening of the far right. The French people decided how liberally democratic and European they wanted to be in those troubling times, and they agreed to liberal democracy in a united Europe.

Often, we lose faith in the liberal, democratic, and European values of our people. We fear that the people don’t appreciate those values anymore that our free and democratic systems are based on. But as the French case shows, we can trust the people much more than we might think. Maybe we should trust the people more often to make the right decisions for our democracies.