On the sovereign people – The Economist:

‘Emmanuel macron is nothing if not a risk-taker. At the age of 38, an electoral debutant, he launched a new centrist party and went on to win the French presidency in 2017, barely a year later. Now Mr Macron has taken a fresh political gamble that puts his credibility and authority on the line for the three years that remain of his second term in office. His unexpected decision, announced on June 9th, to dissolve the National Assembly and hold snap elections at a two-round vote on June 30th and July 7th, has stunned even his own deputies, and left all parties scrambling to book venues, draw up their manifestos and plan their campaigns.
Mr Macron’s decision was a response to crushing results for his party, Renaissance, at elections to the European Parliament on June 9th. The party garnered just half of the share of the vote secured by Marine Le Pen’s hard-right party, National Rally (rn). Her triumphant candidate, Jordan Bardella, scored over 31%, a party record at European elections. That evening, in a televised address, Mr Macron called his decision “grave, heavy”, but argued that he could not “carry on as if nothing had happened”. The fresh vote, the president declared, was consistent with the principle that “the word should be given to the sovereign people.”’

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‘By dissolving parliament now, Mr Macron has at least made the choice his, and controlled the timing.
More than this, the French president is hoping for what an adviser calls a “moment of clarification”. Either the popular support for the rn is real, goes this argument, and in that case his party hopes to put its populist policies—on tax, immigration, energy—under proper scrutiny and to expose their contradictions. Or, the vote represents what the French call a mid-term ras-le-bol, or fed-upness, which would not survive at its current level when the stakes are about the daily government of France.’

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‘Short of winning a majority, Mr Macron may once again face a hung parliament. At best, this could bring forth a German-style coalition; at worst, it would produce more parliamentary deadlock, and potentially more elections.’

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‘Mr Macron certainly knows his history. But he is also often convinced that he can defy precedent, and pull off things that others cannot. The French president may even be gambling that the demands of government might expose to voters the incompetence of the rn, and undermine its appeal ahead of the next presidential election, in 2027. That may be wishful thinking. Either way, Mr Macron’s legacy, as well as his credibility, is now on the line.’

Read the article here.

According to some analysts more than Mr. Marcron’s legacy is on the line. His decision might end the cordon sanitaire against the extreme-right that still exists in many European countries.

As far as ‘ras-le-bol, or fed-upness’ goes, one should conclude that after 2001 ras-se-bol has become the norm, or at least one of the largest minorities, in most countries in the West, and not only in the West.

The human condition: ras-le-bol. At least when it comes to voting.