What In the World!
The holidays are over and the world is still out there. My normal podcasts were on a bit of a hiatus over the past several weeks, but they’re back now. Today’s episode of Pod Save the World allows us to catch up with what’s going on across the globe.
After spending 30+ minutes catching us up on the Israel-Hamas War, the co-hosts (Ben Rhodes and Tommy Vietor) spend some time reviewing the Lloyd Austin (SECDEF) hospitalization, talking about corruption in the American government (including a review of the problems faced by #PO1135809 and NJ Senator Bob Menendez), and updating us on Ukraine. The episode ends with an extended interview with Taiwanese journalist Emily Wu about Taiwan’s upcoming election in January.
One other story caught my eye, and I want to tell you about it this morning because it helps us understand things about European politics we might not otherwise think of. French President Emanuel Macron just appointed a 34-year-old named Gabriel Attal to be his Prime Minister. Attal previously served as Education Minister and was the government spokesperson during the pandemic. He is the first openly gay prime minister in French history and Macron seems to think that this appointment will give him a political boost ahead of the European parliamentary election this spring. In addition, it is part of Macron’s effort to identify a likely successor when Macron leaves office. The risk in France is that the far-right party associated with Marie Le Pen continues to surge.
I want to talk about three important concepts contained in the previous short paragraph:
France has two Chief Executives — the President and the Prime Minister
To summarize the key elements of this chart:
Voters elect the President and members of the two-house parliament, although the Senate is elected through an indirect process.
The President then selects a member from the lower house of parliament – the National Assembly – to serve as Prime Minister.
The President also selects three members of parliament to serve on the Constitutional Council. This body is kind of like the United States Supreme Court, but it provides advisory opinions before laws go into effect rather than wait to judge real “cases and controversies” that arise once laws are implemented, as is the process in the United States.
NOTE: This is the structure of France’s Fifth Republic, which has been in existence since 1958. After its 1789 revolution, France experimented with a variety of forms of government, including a Directoire, a consulate, two empires, two monarchies, and five republics, as well as the Vichy regime during World War II, before seeming to settle comfortably into its current constitution.
In political science lingo, the President of the Republic is the “head of state” and the Prime Minister is the “head of government.” We can compare this to other countries we know about. For example, in the UK, the monarch is the head of state and the Prime Minister is the head of government. In the United States, the President serves in both of these roles. Generally, chief executives wear the head of state hat (or crown) when they are performing ceremonial duties; they wear the head of government hat with they are involved in the behind-the-scenes day-to-day activities of government.
The European Parliament
The antecedents of the institutions of the European Union go back to the 1950s, and since 1979 its members have been directly elected by the voters of the member states. The European Parliament currently has 705 members, allocated according to the population of the 27 member countries. Germany has the largest number of seats, 96, followed by France with 79 seats. The headquarters of the organization are in Strasbourg, France, and its administrative offices are in Luxembourg. Plenary sessions are usually held in Strasbourg for four days a month, but committees generally meet in Brussels. Although this legislature lacks some of the power of national legislative bodies, it has a great deal of indirect influence and its powers have gradually increased over the years.
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are elected for five-year terms, with the next elections scheduled for June 2024. The history of party alignment in the European Parliament shows a general decline in support for the political left and a swing toward the political right, particularly in the 21st century.
Elections in France
The podcast refers to upcoming national elections in France, so I had to look up when those elections are scheduled. The next scheduled legislative and presidential elections are in 2027, and the current President, Emmanuel Macron, is barred from running again as France limits its presidents to two consecutive terms. The French electoral system encourages the formation of multiple national political parties, as you can see on this chart.
Macron, as President, always has the option of calling an early, or “snap,” legislative election if his government loses an important vote in the National Assembly. Macron’s position is a bit tenuous right now; following the 2022 legislative election, his coalition party Ensemble lost its absolute majority in the National Assembly.
As is true in many countries in Europe, the political right is surging in France. The conservative opposition coalition, organized as the National Rally, nominated far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in this election. She is the daughter of former party leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, who ran in the French presidential elections (unsuccessfully) in 1974, 1988, 1995, 2002, and 2007. He is known primarily for his anti-immigrant views – views which his daughter has ridden to some success.
NOTE: The terms "left" and "right" to refer to liberals and conservatives first appeared during the French Revolution of 1789 when members of the National Assembly divided into supporters of the Ancien Regime literally sat on the right side of the chamber and supporters of the revolution sat on the left.
Why Attal
The 34-year-old Gabriel Attal is a popular and media-savvy rising star in French politics. The French electorate has become disenchanted with Macron after rampant inflation and an unpopular pension reform measure seriously tarnished his image; his party currently trails badly behind Le Pen’s far-right coalition as the 2024 European Parliament elections approach.
Macron is 46 years old; Attal is 34. A Reuters article about French politics notes that Macron and Attal have a combined age just below that of President Biden. Ouch. According to some reports, the appointment of Attal was less than smooth, as some party members both inside and outside of the current Macron government objected to the appointment.
Interestingly, the fact that Attal is openly gay doesn’t seem to factor much into people’s opinions of him. With this appointment, Attal will join a handful of other Macron allies who are expected to run for President in 2027. Attal will be making Cabinet appointments this week; several current cabinet members are expected to stay in their jobs, but others will be replaced by new appointees. Unlike in the American system, the legislature does not have to confirm cabinet appointments.
France is expected to be front and center on the world stage this year, as Paris hosts the 2024 Olympics from July 26-August 11 and the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris reopens in the fall, more than four years after the devastating fire of April 15, 2019. Macron wants to be able to take advantage of this attention to solidify his position in the government, and he believes that the appointment of Attal will help him.