A Year of Macronism hasn’t resolved the enigma

It has been a year since Emmanuel Macron entered the Elysee Palace as the youngest leader of France since Napoleon Bonaparte, but the enigma of this novice politician is far from being solved. At home he is facing anniversary demonstrations by those who see his fast-track reforms as menacing, and abroad his globalist approach is not universally applauded. On his recent visit to Washington, he was completely at ease with American counterpart Donald Trump, not surprisingly considering that some call him the “Trump whisperer.” However, though he might be Trump’s favourite foreign leader, Macron, in his speech to a joint session of the US Congress, left no doubt about the schism between the US and France on some of the most pertinent issues of our times, including climate change, the nuclear deal with Iran, the US military presence in Syria, and unilateralism in international affairs.

Macron’s charm and affability are sometimes mistaken for being more about image and presentation than substance. This is very misleading. His views cannot be placed along the more traditional right/left spectrum and his thinking is paradoxical at times, but he embraces this as an integral part of the journey toward finding better solutions to contemporary domestic and global challenges. His globalism, for instance, does not exclude populism, or even French nationalism — you might say he represents a sort of a global populism.

While he won the presidential election against a field of markedly more experienced politicians, he was by no stretch of the imagination a complete outsider. He graduated from prestigious schools, worked in the banking sector and, despite his young age — he only turned 40 last December — had already worked and served in government. Macron and his close-knit group of equally young advisers and confidantes might not have an all-encompassing and coherent ideology, but they don’t lack ideas, values and self-belief. In an interview he gave a few months after becoming president, Macron asserted that “we need to develop a kind of political heroism,” and chastened post-modernism, calling it “the worst thing that could have happened to our democracy.” Instead, he wants this political heroism to create “grand narratives.” He sees this as a bulwark against extremist ideas such as ultranationalism and religious fundamentalism.

This approach provides insight into Macron’s operational code of beliefs, which affects the way he sees politics, international affairs and the forces that impact them. His kind of heroism is not the military kind: It’s about being on the frontline of saving global society and the planet itself from those who are threatening to destroy both. He calls it “democratic heroism.” But, although he insists that he doesn’t want to play the hero, there is a hint of false modesty about this. His demeanor, the causes he champions and his constant need to put his head above the parapet indicate exactly the opposite — someone who aspires to be not just a hero but a saviour.

In his first year in power, he demonstrated that inexperience would not stop him from setting an ambitious agenda: Reforming the centralized French economy, advancing the cause of a closer united Europe, championing global action against the impact of climate change, and more generally embracing globalization. Most politicians would probably not commit themselves to pursuing more than one of these causes, but Macron has thrown caution to the wind, relying on his youthful charm, a deep conviction in his mission, and a strong belief that in politics, as in physics, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. He sees himself as the counter-balance to the dark clouds of parochialism and national chauvinism that have overcast the political skies of Europe, and that in the last century led to two world wars.

By establishing a grassroots movement, La Republique En Marche, he freed himself from all the baggage that comes with traditional parties, especially their reputation for bad governance. His phenomenal success in the elections for the National Assembly, where he won an absolute majority, gave him room to forge ahead with his economic, social and foreign policy priorities. However, a setback in the elections for the upper house means that, for constitutional reforms, he needs to look for a consensus with other parties.

Macron has quickly learned that a decisive electoral victory combined with high-octane and eloquent politics makes you as many enemies as friends. His first-year report should include the caveat that he might become a Tony Blair-like cause celebre, someone more liked abroad, at least in some parts of the world, than at home. Macron’s tax policies are seen as favoring the rich, reflecting his view, which is not necessarily anchored in reality, that tax breaks for investors and businesses create jobs; something of particular importance in a country with a persistent unemployment problem. This, combined with confronting the powerful trade unions, introducing a more “flexible” labor market and modest budget cuts, has angered the political left, mainly because much of it has been about reducing the power of organized labor. And, unlike traditional politics, upsetting one side of the political divide doesn’t make the other happy either. The right also criticizes Macron, mainly because he is a very much a top-down decision-maker and likes to keep core policy-making in the hands of government, and especially the Elysee Palace.

In the two most significant speeches of his inauguration year, one at the Sorbonne and the other to the US Congress, Macron established himself as a visionary on a quest for an ever-closer European Union, which will become a global economic and security force, and also as a champion of multilateralism in confronting the most pressing challenges of our times. Despite talk of a “bromance” with Trump, he was not afraid to tell the US president on his home patch, though not mentioning him by name, that his unilateralism, whether on trade or on climate change, is leading the world toward further discord and conflict.

Macron deserves plenty of praise for presenting an alternative zeitgeist, but to achieve this and become the hero statesman he would like to be, he must not neglect the French political scene and ensure support and stability at home.

• Yossi Mekelberg is professor of international relations at Regent’s University London, where he is head of the International Relations and Social Sciences Program. He is also an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. He is a regular contributor to the international written and electronic media. Twitter: @YMekelberg