Officials in the Biden White House are reportedly worried that one of its closest political allies — French President Emmanuel Macron — could lose big in the country’s looming parliamentary elections, Politico reported Saturday.
Macron, who has been viewed as a bulwark against the European right, dissolved the country’s parliament and called for an early snap election starting on Sunday after right-wing parties made huge gains in European parliament elections in early June in an attempt to prove there is still support for his agenda in France. Behind closed doors, Biden aides are baffled and concerned at Macron’s decision to call the unnecessary elections, with a poor showing from Marcon’s more liberal party casting doubt on the cohesion of the European Union and the Biden administration’s foreign policy goals involving the continent, according to Politico, citing U.S. officials familiar with the discussions.
The right-wing National Rally Party, headed by Marine Le Pen, appears to be in a position to either gobble up a huge chunk of seats in France’s legislature or even obtain a majority, which would allow it to limit Macron’s agenda through budgetary measures. The Biden team is seeking solace in the fact that Macron still has three years left in his term as president and will continue to exercise significant discretion on foreign policy matters, including the Ukraine war.
Macron’s Renaissance Party has pushed back against the widespread global trend of populist politics, electing to support more liberal policies like economic globalization and a lack of action on surging immigration from outside of Europe, according to The Wall Street Journal. Le Pen’s party is in direct competition with that, advocating for stricter immigration policies and placing an emphasis on protecting France’s economy.
“It’s hard to see Macron’s party being able to build coalitions, pass laws and find compromises in a way that it has in the past two years,” Léonie Allard, a visiting fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center, told Politico.
European cooperation has been a necessity for Biden’s international agenda, looking to the continent to help contribute to the defense of Ukraine amidst Russia’s invasion.
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“A ‘cohabitation’ for Macron with an opposition prime minister would cause political chaos in Europe, whether on military and economic assistance to Ukraine, on the tough course toward Russia, or on relations with China,” former U.S. diplomat and current president of the American-German Institute, Jeff Rathke, told Politico.
The Biden administration on the outside has insisted that it is not concerned about the possible results of the French election, despite the report of inside turmoil, according to Politico. Biden’s team also has more pressing domestic concerns, particularly a poor debate performance that has many questioning the president’s mental abilities and looking for a replacement on the 2024 presidential ticket.
“This is just a parliamentary election,” an unnamed Biden administration official told Politico. “If it was a presidential, people would be a lot more nervous.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request to comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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