Emmanuel Macron with then Chancellor Angela Merkel and former US President Donald Trump in December 2019.
(Photo: Reuters)
Paris He started out as an outsider in the elections five years ago. Today he is seen as a new impetus in Europe and in the Ukraine war as one of the most important mediators on the continent. Emmanuel Macron has become known as a president full of energy, who wanted to turn NATO and the European Union upside down, let a wave of reforms roll over France and put an end to the encrusted system of French politics.
The ambitious statesman did not achieve everything during his tenure as President of France. Now he gets another term in office as a gift from the French.
In recent years, the liberal’s plans have repeatedly met with fierce resistance. For weeks, the French protested against Macron’s ultimately failed pension plans. The “yellow vests” soon demonstrated in a sweeping attack against his political style itself. Macron also felt the anger of some physically. He had to have his face slapped and an egg thrown at him.
Macron in particular, who wanted to restore more trust in politics, had to deal with an affair about a confidant after just over a year in office, which put massive pressure on his presidential palace.
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Many also see him, who promised a new political start, not only as an integral part of the political elite, but even as their symbol. He is sometimes seen as the president of the rich – an image that Macron keeps trying to shake off. For example, when he answers late-evening calls in the Élysée in a hoodie.
The 44-year-old mid-politician from Amiens in northern France, who made it into the presidential palace as a high-flyer, polarized opinion. Unforgotten are his clear words about wanting to annoy unvaccinated people in the corona crisis to the end.
But Macron sees a learning curve in himself. There is no doubt that he was sometimes harsh and impetuous. At the side of the French, he then learned to love them better – with more forbearance and benevolence.
Macron is someone who wants to be at the forefront of a number of issues and perhaps dances at too many weddings to produce really visible results in the end. There were numerous moments when he swung big speeches and passionately preached change, but the big change never happened.
“You don’t transform the country in five years,” Macron said recently, admitting in another interview that the time in the Élysée had passed too quickly. Macron may have taken bold steps as president, curbed unemployment and advanced France economically, but he left no immediately apparent political legacy.
Looking ahead to the election, Macron seemed firmly in the saddle for a long time, despite the crises that plagued him. The former elite student and investment banker didn’t bother with the election campaign, allowing his right-wing adversary Marine Le Pen to get dangerously close. As in 2017, he hopes to be able to count on broad support from various camps that want to prevent President Le Pen at all costs.
But while Macron was still a blank slate five years ago, everyone now knows what a new term in office would bring. In the left camp above all: disappointment and frustration. Because the ex-socialist now represents more liberal-conservative issues.
More: This is how the 2022 French presidential election turned out