Opinion by Jennifer Rubin: The French president shows how the center left can win against right-wing nationalists.
An American president who won with 59 percent of the vote, which few think is possible given our own toxic politics, would be a political colossus. That result in France contains several lessons for U.S. media and politicians.
First, a politician who considers it their job to solve problems, as opposed to channeling anger and fanning cultural resentment, will rarely receive credit for achieving half or even three-quarters of a loaf. No matter how well the president helps the country recover from the recession, how many jobs are created on their watch or how effective an international leader they become, anything less than perfect will be met with unforgiving criticism.
Lastly, while hard-left party leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon did not endorse Macron outright, Macron easily lined up center-right, green and socialist parties immediately after the first round. If democratic governments are going to hold off the onslaught from authoritarian, nationalist challengers, they must enlist the widest coalition possible.
That means those factions must curb their disappointment and form a national front against the far right. In the United States, a left-wing figure such as Sen. Bernie Sanders does the cause of democracy no favors by he would run for president if Biden, who has said he will seek reelection, bows out. Self-promotion is inconsistent with the sort of cross-ideological and cross-party alliance democracy needs to survive.In sum, the key to winning for center-left problem-solvers is to make elections about a choice between democracy and authoritarianism; between free markets and crony capitalism ; and between freedom and Christian nationalism.
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