Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1465732
15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 APRIL 2022 NEWS the war and stop this human tragedy." Moreover, Macron has also initiated the Future of Europe conference and closer struc- tured cooperation in defence (PESCO), which is intended to lead towards a stronger com- mon defence for Europe. "The EU is on the cusp of moving forward again after 14 years of crises – the Euro, Schengen and migration, and COVID-19. It will be a pity if a states- man who dares lead the EU is dumped by his own citizens." Yet it is not clear whether en- thusiasm for European integra- tion in the face of Russian ag- gression is enough to galvanise voters, especially in view of Mélenchon's own ambivalence towards Putin's Russia, whose invasion he condemned with- out endorsing NATO's military assistance to Ukraine. French voters may give more importance to bread-and-but- ter issues like inflation. "How- ever, a vote is a vote, and most times foreign policy does not win elections. A sizeable chunk The left-wing firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon garnered 7.7 million votes, trailing Le Pen with just 400,000 votes. The former socialist who leads France Insoumise, a left-wing and sovereignist movement, has advised his voters not to give a single vote to Le Pen, but stopped short of giving support to Macron. "The left-wing mayors declared that 'the far-right candidate is an enemy of the Republic, while Macron is a political adversary, against whom we will have to build an opposition." Poll aggregate by Politico 15/3 5/4 21/4 Macron 58% 53% 55% Le Pen 42% 47% 45% First round result (Candidates scoring above 4%) Emanuel Macron (centre) 27.9% Marine Le Pen (far right) 23.2% Jean-Luc Mélenchon (far left) 22% Éric Zemmour (far right) 7.1% Valérie Pécresse (centre right) 4.8% Yannick Jadot (Greens) 4.6% How Mélenchon voters are expected to vote (Poll aggregate by Politico) Macron 36% Abstain/did not say 45% Le Pen 19% Top 5 concerns of Macron voters (Politico) Ukraine 70% Economic Growth 63% Pandemic 63% Environment 61% Public Debt 57% Top 5 concerns of Le Pen voters (Politico) Security 62% Immigration 60% Pensions 56% Purchasing power 53% Terrorism 51% of the French electorate, as elsewhere, will vote accord- ing to how they think their government is affecting their lives," says Pace who adds that "the cost of living, perceptions on the handling of COVID-19 containment measures and the unem- ployment rate will probably influence them more than other considerations". Did the debate change any- thing? Back in 2017 Marine Le Pen was bruised by a tele- vised debate in which she lost her calm in a two-and- a-half-hour slanging match, that featured more invec- tive than any other debate in French presidential his- tory. But this time round Le Pen was quite prepared for the debate and did not flounder as she did last time, even if "she betrayed a lack of de- tailed comprehension of key issues on which she will be called to decide if elect- ed". But according to Charles Xuereb, the debate was no game-changer for Le Pen. In fact last Wednesday's three-hour debate between the two candidates did not change the opinion of 91% of French voters according to polls. "Without deliv- ering any knockout blows, 59% believed Macron came out on top." Xuereb notes that al- though Macron "did not succeed to change his neg- ative elite image" he effec- tively brought out Le Pen's 'dependency on the Russian regime' accusing her of an unpaid loan of millions to finance her 2017 campaign. And while Macron appears to have convinced more voters as being the safest candidate to lead France and Europe on the road to continuity and solidarity, Le Pen "appears too radical", with the proposed removal of the hijab in public, giving preferential treatment to French citizens against EU rules, threatening the 2015 Climate Change Paris ac- cord, introducing stringent controls on immigration and withdrawing France from the NATO command while discouraging sanc- tions against the belligerent Kremlin. "Moreover Le Pen was short on detail when it came to explaining how she would finance the lowering of the retirement age to 60 years from the current 62," Xuereb said. Still, while everything seems to point out towards a modest but resounding Macron victory, a high abstention rate, especial- ly among left wing voters still leaves room for uncer- tainty. But with so much at stake, the peg on the nose may win keep voters from blowing a raspberry with unforeseen consequences on the rest of Europe and the world.