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David Jay Morris for BuzzFlash: France Did Its Part in Defeating Le Pen, Will We Do Ours?

(Joanna Penn)

April 26, 2022

By David Jay Morris

As Vladimir Putin’s war of autocratic aggression raged on in Ukraine, even over the Orthodox church’s Easter weekend, another crucial battle was taking place in France.

So far, the courageous forces of Volodymyr the Good (aka President Zelinskyy) have held firm against the orc-like hordes of Russian soldiers let loose on his country by the other guy.

Against all odds, Ukraine remains a vibrant democracy.  And if it gets enough of the right types of weapons from the west, it has an excellent chance to remain one.

Ukrainian fighters – both hardened professionals and rank amateurs alike – are putting their lives on the line every day for the sake of their country - and it shows.

They could win this thing.

And, in doing so, possibly strike a crippling blow against the neo-fascist wave now seeking to drown the world.

Far away from the bloodshed in Ukraine, however, another aspect of the wider war between democracy and those who seek to destroy it continues.

In this field of conflict, the fighting takes place with ballots, rather than bullets. And for the pro-Putin crowd, lies, propaganda, disinformation, conspiracy theories and influence campaigns are the weapons of choice.

In 2016, Vlad the Bad won a huge victory on this battlefield with the election in the U.S. of his erstwhile emulator, Donald Trump.

A direct strike on Washington D.C. by a battery of thermonuclear hypersonic missiles could hardly have done half as much damage to American democracy as this deranged demagogue did in his four years as president…and the slow-moving but relentless coup attempt that has followed.

It’s no wonder that Putin imagined that the U.S. and NATO would never have been able to unite in opposition to his genocidal power grab in Ukraine.

Thank God he was wrong.

And thank God, too, that the voters in France for the second time soundly rejected another one of Vladimir’s vassals, the far-right leader Marine Le Pen. 

In this year’s rematch of the 2017 election that brought centrist Emmanuel Macron to power, Ms. Le Pen toned down her radical rhetoric. No more direct calls for France to leave NATO and the EU – just softer sounding policies that would have had the same effect.  Milder anti-immigrant and xenophobic messages and more focus on inflation and people’s dwindling purchasing power. Down-playing of the multi-million-euro loan (as yet unrepaid) she received from a Putin-affiliated Russian bank. Lots of social media posts of her with her cats. 

A little more distance from the Russian leader and even some lip service to Ukraine.

This kinder, gentler right-winger image appears to have worked to a certain extent and Le Pen’s vote tally this time around was considerably higher than it was in 2017.  In the end, however, it couldn’t overcome the healthy scepticism of many French voters and the fear they had of handing the keys to the Elyse Palace over to a woman whose main banker lives in the Kremlin.

When Macron’s solid victory margin of 58.8 – 41.2% was announced, huge sighs of relief could be heard throughout the capitols of Europe, especially in Kyiv.

Had Sunday’s vote gone the other way, the results could easily have been disastrous. The unified support of NATO and the EU for Ukraine would inevitably have been undermined.

France would have started to tilt away from the west and more towards Russia. In short order, the course of the war could easily have been changed back in Putin’s favor.

Fortunately, that didn’t happen. Instead, it was another bad night for Vlad.

But the self-styled Moscow messiah will soon have another chance to turn things around.

Not in Ukraine, however.

Regardless of how the war there plays out in the coming months, this November will bring with it another opportunity for the forces of autocracy to undermine our way of life.

The next big threat to democracy now lies in the United States. 

Let’s call it what it is, “TrumPutinism.”

A movement aimed at putting control of our country back into the hands of the delusional ex-president so that he can complete his mission of turning the “citadel of democracy” into another autocratic banana republic.

The real test will come in 2024, but if Trump Republicans – the entire GOP, for all intents and purposes – regain majorities in the House and Senate this year, we will be halfway down the road to ruin.

The voters of France have done their part in the global fight to save democracy.

Will we do ours?

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