Speaking of the French election, we can draw a parallel with what happened last year in the United States.
Bernie lost the Democratic primaries, leaving Hillary Clinton the “honour” of beating Donald Trump; we know that this didn’t happen, and today we have a rich orange dumbass in the White House who represents everything that is wrong with the world.
What I appreciated most about Bernie after he lost was his pragmatism: he unequivocally endorsed Clinton. And it was the right move.
There were a lot of reasons to dislike her: the links with the financial institutions, banks, billionaires, her hawkish position on foreign policy and so on. But it was extremely important to not let Trump win.
Many labeled Bernie a “traitor” in the name of purism, and here we are.
What the European Left is lacking isn’t purism, it’s pragmatism.
I agree that many on the Left made too many compromises with the right in the last decades, but it is equally dangerous to behave like purists. You will end up like Corbyn in Britain: a complete failure with no say in policymaking.
You can’t change the game if you don’t play it.
Melenchon should have endorsed Macron, gaining more leverage to influence his decisions once elected president.
But no, Macron worked for a bank so now he’s the worst person ever.
Doens’t matter that Le Pen wants to destroy a 70 years long project which, with all its flaws, brought peace back to Europe. Doesn’t matter that Le Pen wants people to die in the Mediterranean. Doesn’t matter that she denied French imperialist crimes.
Centrism and internationalism are a better option than nationalism and pseudo-fascism. I thought that two world wars had taught us a lesson, but I always forget that we are a generation that takes everything for granted.
