'Democrats here will be looking for lessons they can draw in their efforts to energize both the left and center elements of their base to produce an outcome in November that confounds the grim expectations of many pundits and pollsters,' djrothkopf
Meanwhile, Macron has reached out to win the endorsement of left-wing leaders. He has also stepped away from a proposal to raise the retirement age that was very unpopular on the left. And he has stepped up criticism of Le Pen as a threat to Europe in a time of crisis, given her historic Euroscepticism, closeness to Putin and proposals to pull France out of NATO’s command structure.
These steps presage what Biden and the Democratic Party are likely to have to do in the months leading up to November. Proposals to help offset inflation are already front of mind as in this week’s announcement of rules permitting higher ethanol content in gasoline . Expect more steps like that.
While France’s election will not necessarily predict what happens in America’s, Washington will be paying close attention over the next two weeks to what happens to a centrist leader facing challenging global circumstances and a tough race against a right-wing alternative who poses a legitimate threat to Western security and cohesion.
Democrats here will be looking for lessons they can draw in their efforts to energize both the left and center elements of their base to produce an outcome in November that confounds the grim expectations of many pundits and pollsters.