Macron wins but big challenges lie ahead

Emmanuel Macron, who started his own party En Marche! — or On the Move! a year ago, defeated National Front’s Marine Le Pen in France’s presidential election. The election threw up many surprises. Although Macron, a 39-year-old centrist, was projected as a winner by opinion polls, what is remarkable is that he became France’s youngest elected president just a year after setting up his party. Also, it is the first time since the Fifth Republic was founded almost 60 years ago that neither of the established parties, Socialist and Republican, reached the presidential runoff. The incumbent Francois Hollande decided not to seek re-election, a first for a sitting president.
Though Macron won big in Elysee race, he became president of a divided nation. Macron faces daunting challenges when he takes office. Macron, a pro-European globalist will have to heal a fractured France after one of the most bitter and turbulent elections of modern times. He will have to roll back unemployment and spur growth, deal with the terrorist threat and restore faith in the political establishment. He will have to help EU on the path of reform.
To fulfill all these, Macron is facing a biggest challenge to win a governing majority in legislative elections due next month. In the French system, if Macron fails to garner a majority he’d have only limited power. If he has his own majority, he’d have all the powers which the Fifth Republic grants the president. Without that, Macron would be reduced to a ceremonial figurehead incapable of putting into action his campaign promises of
economic modernization.
The French go back to the polls on June 11 and 18 to elect their 577 members of parliament. Since 1958, whoever is elected president has secured governing majority. Every French president since 1981 has come from the traditional parties with strong base and managed to get majority. It seems that trend is going to be shattered as Macron does not have an established base. Also, what has further complicated the matter is Macron’s promise that half his candidates will come from outside
political circles.
According to a Gallup poll, 61 percent of the French don’t want Macron to win a majority in parliament, even if he was overwhelmingly elected. It is a fact that much of Macron’s support in the second round came from people wanting to keep the nationalist Le Pen out of office. So Macron
has slim chance to get a clear majority. It will lead to an ungovernable
situation.
Macron has insisted that he expects to win a majority, and ruled out any alliances ahead of the parliamentary elections. Despite his optimism, Macron knows he’ll likely have to accept a coalition. Macron’s party could form a workable majority with a number of smaller centrist parties. If Macron fails to get majority and falls short of his campaign promises, it would embolden populists who France has managed to keep at bay this time, but may not be able to again.