The POLITICO website features an article titled “Macron vows more liberal reforms to shake France’s economy,” by Giorgio Leali, about Emmanuel Macron and the reforms he plans to implement to boost the country’s economy. According to the website, Macron is an economic liberal and a social conservative.
This is an intriguing solution to the problem because Macron is not proposing to eliminate unemployment benefits, but rather to prevent French people from living on them and to encourage them to find work. At the same time, Macron wants to simplify business bureaucracy so that doing business in France becomes more appealing to foreign investors, which, as we all know, stimulates the economy.
POLITICO views Macron’s decision as a compromise for both left- and right-wing politicians, but emphasizes that Macron is primarily an economist whose reforms, while not always popular in France, are quite effective. According to the article, Macron considers this to be the second act of reform, the first being the one he implemented while serving as Minister of the Economy.
The article includes excerpts from his direct speech as well as quotes from the press conference at the Elysées and the subsequent World Economic Forum in Davos (Leali, 2024). It also demonstrates Macron’s confidence in choosing economic improvement strategies and his willingness to announce them at international forums (Gheciu, 2019). The article also emphasizes that the coronavirus pandemic has pushed the country into debt and that attracting foreign investors is the best solution.
The site carefully examines Macron’s leadership effectiveness as a talented economist who makes unpopular decisions to improve the country’s economy. It emphasizes, above all, the central idea of my portfolio: Macron is an active politician who prefers transformation over stagnation. Overall, the website confirms the information gathered for the portfolio about Macron as a politician who devises subtle economic strategies to boost the economy.
Macron is regarded as a liberal democratic politician who values social welfare for citizens. As a result, he is often referred to as a left-wing politician, but the website emphasizes that this is not always the case. On the one hand, Macron is open to foreign investment, but he wants to significantly reduce social benefits and prevent his citizens from living solely on benefits. Typically, left-wing politicians oppose such decisions; however, given France’s debt, it cannot afford only left-wing policies.
Macron, on the other hand, is not seeking to eliminate benefits; rather, he aims to encourage those who prefer to live on benefits to find work and help provide housing. This is a relatively effective policy because non-disabled citizens must work and pay taxes for the country’s economy to grow. According to the textbook, countries like France and others continue to practice “…liberalism and democracy, there continues to be a vibrant leftist tradition in nations…” (Simon et al., 2019, p. 342). However, these policies cannot always support the economy, and when the economy fails, everyone suffers.
Macron understands that liberal views will not help in this case, so he must first address the economic issue before continuing to be a liberal politician. At the same time, Macron remains quite liberal toward business, which does not characterize him as a right-wing politician (Mackenzie, 2021).
Macron’s education, image, and career suggest that he will not listen to every criticism of his decisions, as doing so only delays and does not solve problems. This is why Macron is considered a pragmatist, and despite taking criticism into account, he continues to promote his ideas. Furthermore, his reforms are consistently effective, demonstrating that his political leadership qualities hold up even amid potential opposition criticism.
References
Gheciu, A. (2019). Remembering France’s glory, securing Europe in the age of Trump. European Journal of International Security. 1-20.
Leali, G. (2024). Macron vows more liberal reforms to shake France’s economy. POLITICO.
Mackenzie, A. (2021). The Mainstream Accommodation of the Far-Right in France: Analyzing Nicolas Sarkozy and Emmanuel Macron’s Populist Rhetoric on Crime (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Haverford College.
Simon, D. W., Romance, J., & Riemer, N. (2019). The challenge of politics: An introduction to political science(6th ed.). CQ Press.