Emmanuel Macron and the referendum weapon | EUROtoday

“Allure and panache”

Emmanuel Macron, who campaigned in 2017 on democratic renewal, has since left the undertaking of institutional reform fallow. Introduction of a dose of proportionality in legislative elections, discount within the variety of parliamentarians… These initiatives have largely been relegated to the background. Guarantor of the unity of the nation, the president is conscious that the hole is rising ever wider between those that govern and people who are ruled. And that the French aspire to be extra concerned in political decision-making.

It is on this context, and within the hope of relaunching a sluggish mandate, that the referendum speculation resurfaces. “It’s been years since there was a referendum in France! It would have style and panache,” agrees an advisor to the manager, who imagines a session on a reform of the establishments and even on the budgetary debate, with a view to the arduous adoption which looms firstly of the varsity yr. a finance invoice with drastic financial savings.

Referendum with drawers

Just a few months in the past, Minister Christophe Béchu had already pushed the thought to the Élysée. The former mayor of Angers imagined a session masking a number of various points, such because the legalization of hashish or ecological measures. The president has obtained notes from a few of his strategists alongside the identical strains in latest days. “We want a referendum, organized firstly of the varsity yr. Ask the French 10 or 12 multiple-choice questions. Thus, you may have a brand new governance program validated by the individuals for the top of the mandate, and also you emerge stronger, since you rely immediately on the nation and never on a political equipment with a view to a hypothetical coalition”, explains to the Point a regular at the palaces of the Republic. The referendum would thus have the advantage of bypassing opposition in Parliament and making up for the lack of a majority. Difficult to stand up against measures that would have been validated by the verdict of the ballot box…

Supporters of the referendum agree on one criterion: that of avoiding at all costs the referendum asking a question to which voters would answer “yes” or “no”. In this case, and in a climate of distrust towards Emmanuel Macron, the weapon would then risk returning to him like a boomerang. The temptation would be great for the president's opponents to make it a referendum for or against him. “It’s the most dangerous thing. And that’s why I don’t see how we could win a referendum,” grimaced someone close to the head of state. Because even in the event of a consultation proposing a full proportional vote in the legislative elections, defended by Marine Le Pen, “the National Rally would risk doing it the other way around”.