And as we mentioned, this is uncharted territory for France.
What happens next? To discuss this,
we're now being joined by Stephen Golub,
international affairs expert from California.
So thank you so much for joining us on World
Inning.
Always a pleasure to have you.
Good to be here, Sir.
Hung Parliament. Those are the prospects that France faces at
the moment.
The results or the new Popular Front game in a
comfortable lead.
Of course, the obvious question is what happens next.
Great question. I don't think anyone knows for sure.
With all three of these major blocs aligned against each
other,
and two of at least two of the leaders of
the four parties constituting the leftist bloc saying that they
won't align with Macron,
we could be seeing months of political paralysis.
More positive options or possibilities are maybe a technocratic government
being set up with a limited agenda for the time
being.
Or maybe despite those vows of not aligning or cooperating
with Mccrone,
they do some, at least some on the left do
decide to align with him and his centrist bloc to
try to form a government,
although at the moment that doesn't seem like it's in
the cards.
Mr. Volley, for further assessment,
do you think that the results that we've seen today
with resurgence of far left in France,
was that a vote against the far right or for
the left wing alliance?
I would think its a vote primarily against the far
right.
You know, as you may know,
the both the right, the the leftist and the central
blocs cooperated electorally,
not running candidates against each other
because they saw this mutual,
they both saw this danger of the far right rising
to power with all that it could mean for domestic
policy,
foreign policy, fascistic elements in the right.
So I'd say it's more a matter of their cooperating
against the far right.
If I made one other up,
brief observation I want to offer is that
taken together with results in some other countries over the
past couple of years and even weeks and months,
the notion of a worldwide wave of far right parties
dominating has dissipated somewhat.
Not everywhere, but you've seen far right parties or leaders
losing or being weakened over the past couple of years,
starting with Brazil, but also in Poland,
more recently elections in Hungary and Turkey,
now France, the United Kingdom.
I wouldn't say the far right was weakened,
but you did have a center left Labour Party being
dominant in the results and even in Iran,
a different kind of far right party,
you know, very, very far right Islamist party,
you know, very, very fundamentalist losing or a candidate for
president losing their to a more reformist candidate.
So that wave of far right victories,
if it hasn't crested, at least perhaps its dissipated somewhat
right. Then, of course, another pertinent issue here,
how do you see the results in the French parliamentary
elections,
Of course, influencing the war in Ukraine,
global diplomacy, Europe's economics, instability?
Well, in terms of the war in Ukraine,
you have this ironic result.
Whereas a decade ago the left might have sided
with Russia against Ukraine or been more sympathetic to it
now. And you have the left being more pro Ukraine
in terms of a strong defense policy for,
for France in support of Ukraine,
I should say, and the right being much more supportive
of Putin and Russia.
So that's an interesting development.
So on that foreign policy front,
you may have some unity there that will help out
Ukraine,
help the Western alliance, help NATO in terms of more
domestic issues,
perhaps things will remain fractured or even more fractured in
France with no ability to move forward
in the weeks or months to come,
Right? Mr. Gore, thank you so much for joining us
in world the ending with your insights on French parliamentary
elections.
Thanks for having me.