French warning
The success of rightist extremist Jean-Marie Le Pen in the first round of the French presidential elections was achieved without the support of the French media barons or the country’s economic and administrative establishment. This fact reflects a grim reality: Voters are gradually drifting away from the policy contours set by the parties who have almost routinely alternated in power, disregarding the consequences of their economic and political decisions on their citizens. The Trotskyist parties were also successful, but no critic referred to the perils stemming from the revolutionary and internationalist left. However, contrary to the worries of commentators around the world, Le Pen’s success last Sunday is no threat but rather a valuable warning to the major parties, urging them to re-examine the political deregulation that they have imposed on the economy and society and which has produced an extremist reaction. Other European leaders should therefore be grateful to the French voters who brought an existing problem to the surface, instead of trying to incriminate the citizens of a country that has contributed more than any other to Europe’s political thought and practice. The European leaders’ surprise at Le Pen’s electoral success demonstrates how estranged they are from European reality, as they proved unable to grasp the transformations pervading the electorate.
