06-03-2024, 02:42 PM
(06-03-2024, 01:01 PM)dken31 Wrote: I've not heard Macron described as right-wing before.  If he is right-wing, that would make pure communism centrist and put Le Pen completely off the scale on the other side.
I think people should only be allowed to vote if they're net tax payers (i.e. they pay more tax than they receive in benefits/pensions/WfF etc.) and MPs should be required to have a minimum IQ of 130.
He may not be as extreme right as Marine le Pen, but he is right wing nonetheless, though with some things slightly more left-ish.
https://www.connexionfrance.com/article/...It-depends
"And there are multiple additional examples: a tax on tech giants; incentives for corporate profit-sharing; a substantial eurozone budget, none of which, other than for the radical left, would qualify as right-wing.
MacronÔÇÖs earlier political career was on the left
In strict party-political terms, Macron is of the left. He was a Finance Minister under Socialist President François Hollande. 
His political philosophical roots are social-democratic, substantially in the person of Michel Rocard. 
But why bother? Why concern ourselves with the colour of MacronÔÇÖs political make-up?┬á
As ever, in a bid to better understand France in all its complexity. And its difference, real and imagined.
So thereÔÇÖs an argument for saying that the moderate left in France, which for some French is the right, is embodied in the person of the current French president.┬á
Yet, and thankfully, it rather depends on your perspective.
https://www.politico.eu/article/emmanuel...lucksmann/
PARIS ÔÇö Emmanuel Macron has a new problem.┬á
"Ever since winning reelection in 2022, his main threat has come from┬áMarine Le PenÔÇÖs far-right National Rally, which is surging ahead in the polls.
But now a new challenger on the left of French politics is gaining steam. 
Ahead of JuneÔÇÖs European Parliament election, center-left MEP Rapha├½l Glucksmann is posing a potentially serious danger to the French presidentÔÇÖs tribe.┬á
Now some are asking whether MacronÔÇÖs tilt to the right to counter the National Rally, on issues such as immigration and pension reform, has cost him vital support on the left. "
Last yearÔÇÖs┬ápension reform, which raised the minimum retirement age, and an immigration bill which the far-right dubbed an ÔÇ£ideological┬ávictory,ÔÇØ triggered dissent within MacronÔÇÖs team and weakened his left-wing credentials.
The government gave in to hardline conservatives on key points including limiting access to social benefits for new immigrants and the end of automatic birthright citizenship, which prompted public criticism from left-leaning cabinet members.' 
in order to be old & wise, you must first be young & stupid. (I'm still working on that.)