| While the absence of any viable coalition government in France, a situation lasting 50 days and counting, may be new for the French, it is not unusual in other EU countries. That said, the longer this continues, the more it stains Emmanuel Macronâs reputation on the EU stage. In November 2017, Time magazine ran its cover story with an interview of the newly elected Macron. The title read âThe next leader of Europe,â with the asterisk âIf only he can lead France.â Welcoming Macronâs new stature with candid eyes, the piece closed with this: âIf Macron pulls off his transformation at home, the ambitions he has to change the worldânot just Franceâcould be within reach.â This is no meaningless last sentence, and it is so far from what Macronâs aura has become seven years into office. (Another sentence reads, âPutin is now a man [Macron] can cut a deal with." Evidently, it did not age well.) In just the past three months, the French president has suffered two crushing defeats in the pollsâthe European and snap national legislative electionsâthe latter of which he called in June. At the same time, the European Commission opened an Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP) on France, with its deficit and debt levels some some of the highest in the EU. However, with no government in place to develop a draft budget that could assuage some of the Commissionâs concerns, for now, it remains another thorn in Macron's side. Finally, the countryâs political makeup following the snap elections is more fragmented than ever, with no viable coalition or minority government in sight. The left-wing union, which secured the highest number of seats in the National Assembly (but is 100 short of an absolute majority) has been barred by the ElysĂ©e from future coalition talks, arguing it would fail to bring âinstitutional stabilityâ.
Negotiations are still ongoing with the centre-right and the right. | 