“If Voting Made a Difference, They Wouldn’t Let Us Do It”
Well, there we are: another five years of Macron. He was the clear winner, gaining 58.55% of the vote. Madame Le Pen only received 41.45%. Predictably, the election result was the main theme for our broadsheets. The editors of the semi-broadsheet “i” seem to think that the shenanigans of the Tory ‘rebels’ were more newsworthy – who cares if they ’join forces’ to get rid of BJ after next week’s local elections? Two Red Tops mention the ‘cost-of-living crisis’, with the DM’s paper editors going for ‘HRT Crisis Putting Lives in Danger’. Oh dear. You can find the compilation of the paper editions’ headlines in the usual place here.
First, let’s take a look at the bare stats:
“The Interior Ministry reported a turnout of 71.99%, one of the lowest turnouts in French runoffs. The turnout dropped lower only in 1969 when 68.9% of the voters showed up at polling stations. About 8.6% of the counted ballots in the latest vote were empty or mismarked.” (link)
It is what it is, there’s no point in calculating ‘what-ifs’ based on those stats. The French electorate has spoken and the Frogs will have to live with the consequences. Next, here’s what Macron told his supporters (my emphasis):
“Standing before the Eiffel Tower after arriving to the strains of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy – the European Union anthem – Mr Macron promised to do his “duty” to unite France. “Many of our compatriots voted for me not out of support for my ideas but to block those of the extreme Right,” he told a crowd of thousands waving French and EU flags. Close to tears, he said: “I am everyone’s president” before telling those who abstained or voted for Ms Le Pen that he understood their anger. He told voters: “I know how much I owe to you, thank you.” (paywalled link)
Here’s the rendition of Macron’s speech in The Times, perhaps a bit less emotional but also quoting Macron’s main point (my emphasis):
“Macron acknowledged his debt to voters, mainly from the left, who had heeded calls to back him in the run-off to block Le Pen’s election. “Many of our compatriots voted for me not out of support for my ideas but to block those of the far right,” he said. “I want to thank them and I know that I have a duty towards them in the years to come.” (link, paywalled)
Rounding up the election reports are the ‘congratulations’ from our ‘leaders’, here and in the EU, ‘by twitter’, the sign of contemporary ‘statecraft’:
“[…] mainstream politicians and European leaders voiced relief at the rejection of a candidate who had promised authoritarian government by referendum at home, upheaval in Europe and alliance with Russia. Boris Johnson, whose relationship with Macron is tense, quickly tweeted congratulations, adding: “France is one of our closest and most important allies.” Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, congratulated the fiercely pro-EU president, adding: “Your constituents also sent a strong commitment to Europe today.” (link, paywalled)
If we needed more confirmation for the iron grip on our necks which the establishment exerts, here as well as in France, the EU and NATO, the editors of The Times are outspoken:
“Europe, Nato and the French establishment will be much relieved. A victory by Marine Le Pen would have been disastrous for the concerted efforts of the western alliance to show solidarity in the face of President Putin’s aggression. It would have called into question France’s commitment to the European Union. Ms Le Pen withdrew her threat to pull France out of the EU, but her proposals on immigration, on French exceptionalism and on dismantling many of the reforms Mr Macron had pushed through would have made her an extremely difficult partner for other EU leaders and also for any American president. France’s diplomats, business leaders and civil servants would have struggled to adjust to her nationalist, populist and isolationist policies.” (link, paywalled)
Yes, the French voters were mindful of the difficulties a victory for Mme Le Pen would’ve had for all those French civil serpents! They were mindful of ‘that war’ in the Ukraine and thus voted ‘against Putin’. They voted so that poor Pres Biden wouldn’t have to deal with more ‘difficulties’. They voted for more immigration, for more EU … phew, the champagne in all those ‘corridors of power’ must have been flowing in veritable streams!
There’s just one point which I’ve emphasised in the quotes above: the attitude of the international power elites is only concerned with labels, not with ideological realities. By now most people have at least an inkling that the Ukrainian government is, let’s say it politely, ‘far right’ or ‘extreme right’. The various Nazi emblems on the various flags and uniforms of Ukrainian soldiers can no longer be hidden. The reports from ‘ancient times’ about neonazis in the Ukrainian government are denied, are forgotten.
So how come that there’s this relief that the good old Frogs voted ‘to block those on the far right’? After all, isn’t the international establishment, be it led by Macron, be it led by our PM, the US president or the German Chancellor, supporting the Ukrainian regime which is clearly much further to the Right than Mme Le Pen?
Isn’t this schizophrenic attitude indicative of something else, something far more dangerous, namely that the old labels of Right and Left do not matter any longer? These labels are clearly nought but PR slogans to be used at will, for the best political effect in elections., but no longer indicate deep political differences.
Elections have now become a ‘democratic theatre’, to occupy the minds of us peasants, to make us feel good, to make us feel that we ‘have a say’ in the fate of our nations . Only, this fate is no longer determined by those we happen to vote for but by faceless, unaccountable people in back rooms who are able to pay for the best PR specialists.
Moreover, this election result shows yet again that voters have been trained to vote for ‘personalities’ who ‘do well on TV’, from our own PM to Macron to Mr ‘e. It shows that a ‘performer’, be it this wannabe Napoleon, be it our clownish PM, will win through, thanks to PR and spin, regardless. of the reality of voters’ lives.
Therefore, I don’t think those ‘Tory rebels’ will have a chance. Nor will the “Gray Report” have much of an effect, even though one Whitehall ‘source’ told the Times that it was so ‘damning’ that Johnson would have to go (link, paywalled). So far, we’re lucky that Starmer is anything but a TV ‘performer’, but who knows: perhaps the international PR machinery will polish him sufficiently should Johnson deviate from that ‘marche’ of ‘war against Putin’.
Once the whole edifice of ‘security’ and prosperity’ comes crashing down it will be too late for voters, in France or here. I wonder though how our MSM here in Blighty will spin their cry for ‘regime change’ when we all are going to be faced with more inflation, more war, and more EU. Will they advise us to go through the motions, to play the role the masters have allocated us and vote ‘for the next great politician’?
Should you now feel a bit nauseated and despondent – never mind, you’ll get over it! Once all we can do is count the pennies left in our wallets we’ll stop worrying about politics and be happy …
Nationalist, populist and isolationist policies! Really?
I think we could do with some of that in Britain.
couldn’t agree more
Nigel Farage was excellent this evening on his GB News programme. He was saying all the things I want to hear from a political party leader, and doing so against a backdrop of the Houses of Parliament which is stuffed to the rafters with utterly useless individuals who represent nobody apart from themselves. Come on Nigel get that new party formed and lets get an alternative common sense approach out into the open. As stated so many before Farage is wasted as radio station presenter and the country needs him heading up a proper conservative leaning party, and holding Johnson and Co to account.
Yes please Colin at 8.25pm 25/4.
Well done to all those who voted for Le Pen. The pox on those who didn’t. Macron will stuff them, just like Doris stuffed those who lost their nerve and voted for Doris.
Wished we in Britain had a centre Right party that was half as successful as Le Pen has been.
Jake Bennett………..agreed. Someone I know has just recently joined For Britain, who previously said he was a Labour voter and called me ‘far right’ for having stood several times as UKIP election candidate. I like the idea of a political party standing for patriotism and against illegal immigration etc, but UKIP, Reform UK, and the Heritage Party say the same things, but not in such a confrontational way I looked at a few videos that For Britain have on their website but they are mostly centred on anti immigration and filming outside hotels used to house those who have entered the country via the English Channel on dinghies etc, but any party worth its salt has to have policies right across the political spectrum. They are standing candidates in the local elections like many other smaller parties, but I cannot see too many people voting for them on the strength of what I’ve seen.
More of the same in France then. More European Union propaganda and how united they are, more immigration and those who make it into France directed towards the north French coast and encouraged to get into a dinghy and motor across the Channel, where a government led by a complete donkey will pick them up mid channel and give them free accommodation, free pocket money, free mobile phones, free tablets and free transport all paid for by the mugs that voted that donkey in, me included. And what’s more, potentially more of the same here as well, who according to Oliver Dowden if the donkey is dismissed from office over breaking Covid laws that he set, as it would cause instability. We have no influence upon French politics and their electorate have now made their bed and will have to lie in it for the next five years. However the ball is in our court insofar as the donkey in charge here is concerned, as he needs to be cast aside at the earliest opportunity. I hope the fake Conservatives alias The New Green Party get a right royal trouncing at the local elections next month, as this will be the catalyst of getting rid of our liability of a prime minister.
The tabloids are starting to report on food shortages, such as an impending shortage of wheat due to the bread basket country of Ukraine not being able to harvest the usual amount, and the cost of fertiliser, seeds and animal feed. But there are many important issues that aren’t hitting the headlines. For example, Indonesia, the main exporter of palm oil, has announced that it will not be exporting any from the end of this week. Palm oil is in so many foods and household products – it helps to make soap and shower gel foamier, biscuits more crumbly and so on. Another ‘burning question’ is the strange number or fires in food processing plants and microchip factories. I have seen it reported by Tucker Carlson on Fox News and on this ‘prepper’s’ you tube. The effect on the supply chains will be devastating. How many meals is the population away from a riot? Thinking of how brutal the Boxing Day sales used to be when well nourished folk would trample all and sundry just to grab a pair of trainers or a handbag at a discount imagine how it will be when everyone is really hungry.
France has elected to commit suicide,,,
May GOD have mercy on her soul.
Here in UK I’m in the None of the Above camp,and don’t go in for tactical voting since LibLabTory are all globalist parties.
But if I had been a French voter where one of the options Le Pen is not globalist, I would have voted for Le Pen to keep Macron out. Nothing but nothing could be worse than a Globalist. but have many of the French voters realised that yet?
There were 13.5 million abstensions and 3 million spoilt or blank ballots. Total 16.5 million.
Macron got 18.5 million votes. Le Pen got 13 million. So she came third after ‘none of the above’ coming second.
I have photos before and after of a young woman who, as a Yellow Vest in 2019, was one of the 25 yellow vests who lost an eye at the hands of this Rothschild bankster thug’s “police” force. Clusters of rubber bullets or suchlike in the eyes of these non violent protestors. I think that every single photo of this monster should have this young woman’s photos shown alongside , so that the memory of these outrages never fades.
It takes more than 5 years to detoxify a brand (for example, the Tories after John Major and ‘sleaze’) and can take more than 5 to toxify someone (for example, Blair who was re-elected after Iraq). It appeared, briefly, that Macron had done for himself in record time and could well have done but for getting the second round opponent he wanted.
I think Youngkin and DeSantis in the US show the way. Culture war topics are often a wedge issue for the left and the right needs to exploit that more if Blair-Trudeau-Macronism is to be defeated. It seems that politics is no longer ‘the economy stupid’.
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So Macron didn’t meet his Waterloo. Oh well, nothing to see here, everyone back on the bus. As for the suggestion of Hunt as next PM, nooooooooo.
It’s enough to make you feel sick isn’t it, I predicted that the globalists wouldn’t let Le Pen win and they didn’t. It’s hard to imagine just what happened. Was this another fixed election? Are the French really that stupid? Have the French been completely politically disenfranchised by mass immigration? Immigrants of varying kinds but none of them want the invasion of France stopped.
The entire Western world has been undermined by fraudulent leaders: Macron, Trudeau, Ardern, Biden and others; they are frauds because in a democracy, these leaders are meant to represent the citizens of their country but they represent supranational organisations – WEF, UN etc – and so they are not fit to be and should not be in office. We can conclude then that our respective countries have been invaded by a hostile enemy just as surely as if we’d let Adolf Hitler and his Nazis conquer our lands.
It’s a sobering thought on ANZAC day in Australia and New Zealand, that those that died to protect our freedom and defend our country, may have bought us some time but ultimately died in vein.
The generation that was in the 68 riots that ‘brought down’ the government went on to become bourgeoisie, but not as entrepreneurs or buisness owners, but as state employee’s and bureaucrats. Their children were brought up to aspire to a nice ‘job’ in the government sector and make no mistake they love it and the control it gives them. It was once said that the French Minister of education, if asked could tell you what any child would be learning in school on and at one time on any day.
France was never a committed partner to NATO dispite all the flag waving, committed to the e.u and enjoying the’ pomp ‘ that goes with and under the illusion that Germany is their ‘partner’ , neither are economic power houses any more than the U.K is. Macron arriving to the Tune of ‘ Ode to Joy ‘ says it all and should act as a warning to Boris and anyone else listening.The salad days for the e.u and the U.K are long gone but the ‘sheep’ have yet to notice however they will and soon. Then then things will change and fast and not in the way that the media and political class would wish. Back here over the weekend the Telegraph presumably driven by the ‘rebels’ were ‘kite flying’ a story that Hunt is the person to have as the next P.M as he his a serious person for serious times. If that happens all I can say is may your god help the conservative party of which I am no fan and more importantly us all.