(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
VG commentator Frithjof Jacobsen says in the book Project Prime Minister that "modern politics is not about educating the people and seeking adherence to ideological principles, but about trying to understand what answers people want to hear". The goal is to mean the same as most people. Politicians do not come to power by party; instead they should follow. Social media is spreading fake news and coughing up simple solutions that most people want to hear. As a counterpart, ambitious politicians publish books in which they try to raise their eyes, reflect and emerge as heads of state. Erna did it in the book People, not billions, Jonas with In motion – both clearly inspired by Barack Obama To live a dream. In France, all presidential candidates publish a book before every election. That's why you take them with a pinch of salt and read them with a crooked look. French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron joins the ranks of elegant storytellers. He writes a lot about himself, about the importance of France in his life, but also about the politics he wants to introduce. The title Revolution a brave choice in a country that knows exactly what that means. Which heads should roll in Macron's case? Is there anything in his visions that might be reminiscent of a French revolution?
Revolutionary traditional. Macron is a 39-year-old young man from Picardie north of Paris – married to his 24-year-old high school teacher, and the father and grandfather of her children and grandchildren. Already here there is a hint of something revolutionary. The French are not used to such presidential candidates, although Sarkozy's marriage to Carla Bruni and Hollande's escapades with various movie stars have helped change the perception. Macron would rather appear as the safe, traditional man many can recognize and admire: born into a middle-class family, brilliant at school, university and through national administration education. From here he is handpicked into the top layer of the finance ministry, responsible for putting Jacques Attali's modernization report in the pen. It then carries it to the Rothschild Bank where he probably earns a small fortune before being hired into President Hollande's staff. There, he shines to such an extent that he is appointed Minister of Economy before he gets a strange whim and starts the grassroots movement "On the way!". With public funding, many a sympathizer contributes anywhere from 1 to 7000 euros – the average is 50. Everyone laughs, of course: For some nonsense he has found. Crowdfunding is something you do in California and Colorado, but not in one of the world's most traditional countries.
Potential. Macron's upbringing, career, and entry into politics are nothing short of a miracle. That's why we bite and try to look for clues as to what kind of revolution he intends to introduce. For change is not easy in France: they are impossible, says the Financial Times and The Economist – French people just won't. Macron's recipe is not to jeopardize his political opponents, and certainly not at National Front's Marine Le Pen. For that he knows too many such voters. Instead, he highlights the possibilities, showing how France can become a pioneer – by exploiting the enormous potential he sees in the French people.
Macron wants to force frugal Germans to increase their consumption, with money that will benefit German trading partners.
Looking to Scandinavia. Macron's diagnosis starts surprisingly brutally when he finds that capitalism as we know it sings in the last verse. He goes in quickly and says that the financial world must be controlled, not removed, because it is absolutely necessary to cover the budget deficit à la France. No one wants to profit from reversing the globalization trend, but this must be mastered and overseen. This cannot be done by France alone, as Le Pen wants by pulling France out of European cooperation. Instead, Macron will strengthen EU cooperation and negotiate a new agreement with Angela Merkel on debt management, and above all: force moderate, frugal Germans to increase their consumption. Germany cannot both export, so let capital flow into the country, and then not spend that money on goods and services from the trading partners who, after all, buy their products. It's not fair. Macron will introduce a Scandinavian economic model – so-called flexi-security – which means a flexible labor market, but with a safety net that ensures that the unemployed return to work quickly. Two offers, but no more can a jobseeker say no to. Macron is also in favor of decentralizing the education system – something all governments have been trying to do since the 1990s. That is, something as simple as letting each university hire and appoint its own professors. He wants to ban smartphones in school.
Head Scrolling. After his book was published, Macron presented his political program with a new economic line at the center. He wants to reduce the corporate tax rate from 33,5 to 25 percent, and turn the wealth tax on property. At the same time, he will grant tax exemptions for investments. This is how he will stop the emigration of wealthy Frenchmen into Belgium, Canada and across the Channel. And quite obviously he will invest massively in the future, that is, education and climate action, by funding vocational education and technology development to facilitate the green shift. The money will come from a reduction in public spending, including the money that is saved as a result of unemployment declines. Many people believe Macron with this gambler – because he fails to lower unemployment, spends the expense in the weather.
Macron uses much of the book to talk about fairness – something that is not easy in a country where corruption and nepotism belong to everyday life. The National Assembly is proposed to be reduced by one third, old tax benefits to be removed and delegates banned from paying for advisory services. In other words, this is where the heads should roll.
A dreamer? In Europe – or in Norwegian: in the EU – Macron will inject a good dose of revolution. The timing is perfect as EU President Juncker has taken the initiative for a long-awaited introspection: What works and what doesn't? What kind of cooperation should the EU's 27 countries be based on when the British are out? Here, Macron spans the arc and causes even European enthusiasts to blush: Over the next ten years, euro area countries must be integrated not only in terms of budget, but in areas such as tax, social benefits and not least in energy. To get there, he wants a broad Europe debate in all EU countries – with pan-European campaigns. Macron believes he should be able to create a European democratic space – which is absolutely necessary to re-legitimize EU cooperation in each country.
Which heads should roll in Macron's case? Is there anything in his visions that might be reminiscent of a French revolution?
It is allowed to dream! But you world so well Macron is doing so in a political climate where the outer left and outer right are crying out to close borders and return to the tyranny of nation states.
It is easy to get rid of the presidential candidate's thoughts, because he is both precise and specific in the use of words. The book does contain some gossips, such as that France should go from being led to leading itself, but they do not dominate the text. Instead, Macron strikes surprisingly often when describing society and financial issues. For example, Macron talks about what robots can do to replicate growth: They don't steal, but create, jobs.
The chance of the good forces. What it does Revolution so fascinating, is actually not what it says, but the role Macron and his ideas can play for a France, a Europe and a world dominated by rebellion and confusion. Because after Brexit and Trump, a victory for Marine Le Pen will make Europe's supranational and stable cooperation come to an end. If Emmanuel Macron goes down with the victory against Le Pen on Sunday, May 7, which most polls give hope for, the good forces can take revenge and turn the national populist wind in Europe. May it just turn all the way up north. In that case, the title of the book is both welcome and in place, and the word "revolution" takes on a whole new meaning.
