Saving European Democracy Starts at Home – Foreign Policy
▻http://foreignpolicy.com/2018/05/17/saving-european-democracy-starts-at-home
Among media analysts and academics, there is a widespread belief that one man, President Emmanuel Macron of France, can stem the tide of radical right populism in Europe. Macron burnished his credentials as the continent’s leading defender of liberal democracy in a major speech at the European Parliament on April 17. His central message was to respond to the populists’ rise not with “authoritarian democracy, but the authority of democracy.”
Tout cela est bien connu et documenté ici, mais, même si ce n’est qu’une Opinion, c’est dans FP…
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One year after Macron’s election victory, his record at home is decidedly mixed when it comes to respect for human rights and key democratic principles.
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Although France suspended its commitment to some of the rights enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights during that period, Macron gave a speech to the European Court of Human Rights on the eve of the new law entering force, assuring his critics that the new law would restore the rule of law. But it hasn’t.
In fact, the new law enshrines in ordinary criminal and administrative law many of the state of emergency’s exceptional powers and practices.
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So far, leading anti-poverty and anti-homelessness charities are concerned that Macron’s social policy reforms are taking France in the wrong direction. His government appears to be increasing the pinch on pensioners and others with low incomes. Macron’s government reduced the housing support benefit that an estimated 10 percent of people in France rely on — a move that is unlikely to convince voters that he wants to improve economic and social rights for all. Macron may also be learning that labeling those left behind by technological progress and those who object to his labor and welfare policy choices as “slackers” does not help his case.
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If he is to present a real alternative, Macron should first confront some of his own government’s deeply flawed policies on immigration, counterterrorism, and integration. Above all, Macron should stand up for human rights principles and address the fear, abuse, and unfairness that drive voters into the arms of radical right populists.
That pluralist vision is where the authority of democracy lies.