Muddling along in the middle
ANN CROTTY: Who is stuck with the worst political leader?
Some South Africans have worried about the end of life as we know it for too long to sound passionate about it any more. For the French it still has an element of novelty
The post-lunch conversation with French tourists at the next table had deteriorated into a Monty Pythonesque boast about who was stuck with the worse political leaders. As far as the two Frenchmen were concerned, theirs were without doubt the worst. "Le Pen or Macron? What choice is that?" winced one in Gallic despair, referring to the two candidates who had made it through to the final round of the French election.According to the polls, Emmanuel Macron is set to win 60% of the votes in the second leg of the election. My own research (more anecdotal than scientific) suggests the majority of the French would hate Marine Le Pen to win but almost as many cringe at the prospect of a Macron victory. Macron may have just set up his En Marche! party, but he has too much history with current president François Hollande, and is too enthusiastic a supporter of the EU to be regarded as anti-establishment. As for the Front National’s Le Pen, her extreme views on immigration make her discomfort...
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