this post was submitted on 27 Aug 2024
163 points (97.7% liked)

europe

1744 readers
12 users here now

Includes Turkey, the UK, and Georgia.

founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 118 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Once again, liberals would rather kowtow to fascists than give an inch to the left.

[–] [email protected] 91 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

In Macron's case he had been doing a very clever strategy of defeating the far right by adopting all their policy positions. Very clever stuff, love to see political mastermind at work.

[–] [email protected] 54 points 3 weeks ago

kamala-coconut-tree Macronism with coconut characteristics

[–] [email protected] 45 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

What's that they say about scratching a liberal? thonk

[–] [email protected] 20 points 3 weeks ago

Scratch behind liberal's ears and a fascist barks.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 96 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

For fun (to torture myself) I decided to check out what r/neoliberal has to say on this, since they're the kind who will scream about "democracy" so much. atlantic-council Unsurprisingly, they're trying to either downplay this or outright support Macron's tactics. I even saw one of these dweebs with a NATO flair say: "Never give the left an inch of power." Lmao. Really dropping all pretense there. pigmask-off

[–] [email protected] 63 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

It's why we must make no excuses for the terror when it's our turn, they must be purged

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 43 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

it's amazing how fast the mask falls off with these types.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

It's why I don't hold my punches very hard. It takes very little scratching to get them to admit that they will abandon "democracy" or permit violence. At least once the mask slips you can have a real conversation

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 41 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

They're much more forgiving with the far right. The mask drops fast as hell when it comes to the left

[–] [email protected] 22 points 3 weeks ago

It's not surprising. The hierachy of support for fascists goes like this:

  • Fascists themselves
  • Liberals
[–] [email protected] 78 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

stability

there's that word again

[–] [email protected] 63 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

There was this guest on citations-needed a few years ago who said in an aside "at a certain point the word 'stability' should make your skin crawl" and it's been rattling around in my brain ever since

[–] [email protected] 47 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Found it

Nima: Well so it kind of reminds me of on the eve of the Iranian revolution Jimmy Carter called Iran under the Shah like an ‘island of stability’ and its just because we like them and we prop them up and then as soon as that changed now they’re evil and terrifying.

George [Ciccariello-Maher]: Oh, of course. And like there’s a certain point where the word ‘stability’ should make your skin crawl.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Jesus. Black magic pulling that quote up nice Google-fu comrade sankara-salute

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 50 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Bolting the lid on my pressure cooker to keep it stable macron

[–] [email protected] 37 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

For a safe

and secure...society

unlimited-power

[–] [email protected] 75 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Didn’t he insist on the elections because the far right was more popular than him lol

[–] [email protected] 67 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

The entire point of the election was to hand the government over to the far-right, and when people voted to do the exact opposite of that... Well here we are.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 3 weeks ago

German 1932 Reichspräsident election, but as farce.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 75 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Wolfgang Schäuble, a powerful advocate of austerity policy in Europe, succinctly summarized the extent to which electoral democracy is subordinate: “Elections cannot be allowed to change economic policy.”

from https://redsails.org/why-marxism/

German Minister of Finance Wolfgang Schäuble, advocate of austerity policy in Europe, was less crass yet no less succint in 2015:

Elections cannot be allowed to change economic policy.

from https://redsails.org/brainwashing/

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 71 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

macron : "You don't have the balls to do shit about it."

French public:

[–] [email protected] 39 points 3 weeks ago

I hope so. I hope a spark of rebellion and "fuck you" runs through the public and they retaliate by voting left even harder. A kind of "how dare you challenge us" outcome would be perfect.

I question whether there is enough public with the class conditions necessary though. No matter what happens a certain number of people are entirely locked up into voting for their interests and those interests will be macron. As long as he and the right can lock up 25% each they can fuck the left over forever.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 69 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

He has invited Le Pen to talk about it, so the neoliberal fash alliance is likely going to happen.

Imagine that, liberals being more willing to cooperate with fascists than even succdems.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 53 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

If there's something the frogs are good at it's rioting. Interesting days ahead?

[–] [email protected] 57 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

I find the fact that people have been rioting for years now with nothing to show for it is really illustrative why a vanguard is absolutely necessary to achieve any sort of systemic change. Spontaneous action never actually accomplishes anything in the end.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 33 points 3 weeks ago

Could just as easily get heated for a bit then fizzle out. I mean look what happened just a year ago with the raising of the retirement age in France and the resulting mass protests.

[–] [email protected] 50 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

patrick-lenin what did I say dawg, I told you

[–] [email protected] 49 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 31 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

All Gaul should be divided into three parts.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 3 weeks ago

Get that balkanising freak gunther on it

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 47 points 3 weeks ago

macron

Would be a good time for some good ol' fashioned rioting in the streets.

[–] [email protected] 46 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

lol apparently France is doomed to have it's entire history be just people mad at the upper class and leaders gaslighting them

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 44 points 3 weeks ago

They should have some old guillotines just lying around.

[–] [email protected] 44 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (5 children)

neoliberal coup

The fun part is that it is absolutely legal and constitutional to do so. Generally the french president is a de jure dictator and has all legal means to become a de facto one very easily. In that case, the french president is the one who decides alone who is the prime minister. The theory that he had to pick a NFP prime minister is rooted in an unofficial tradition that was upheld by his predecessors but only because they thought it was a smart move to play compromises. Macron doesn't need any real changes to have full power, he's simply the first one to actually abuse the full potential of the constitution

[–] [email protected] 31 points 3 weeks ago (4 children)

A lasting gift from DeGaulle

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 21 points 3 weeks ago

It's funny how it's always the liberals who lay the political groundwork for fascists taking power.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 43 points 3 weeks ago
[–] [email protected] 42 points 3 weeks ago

Respecting the norms and institutions so hard right now. Don’t forget Vuvuzela election fraud 1984

[–] [email protected] 41 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Somebody get Juan Guaidó on the horn—we need an interim President. guaido

[–] [email protected] 37 points 3 weeks ago

Jean Guaideaux

[–] [email protected] 28 points 3 weeks ago

First as tragedy

Then as farce

[–] [email protected] 24 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

macron I told them they already have a PM.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

The 18th Brumaire of Emmanuelle Macron

[–] [email protected] 23 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

I don't really get what's so surprising. The National Assembly has a 67% right wing majority, and Macron has always rejected collaborating with the left. "But the left won the election" is just cope.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 23 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

I'm a little unclear about the specifics of the French system, but this essentially means Macron is trying to run a minority government and appoint a PM from his party, right? So...he'll need the fash to give him supply (I think a coalition is unlikely) and...why would they do that when forcing a deadlock and another dissolution would just hurt Macron at this point?

I guess Macron could just not, and deal with collapse of supply since he's the only one who can dissolve parliament and both the right and left would need to agree to impeach, but then it's like a US budget crisis on steroids.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Can't Macron just continue refuse to do anything and run a caretaker government for the next few years?

If they don't have the numbers to remove him, anyway

[–] [email protected] 21 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Potentially he could try, it's been done in England (though not recently, I think the last time was the bedchamber crisis and that was more an unwilling minority government) and in Belgium more recently. The advantage of parliamentary systems with figurehead leaders to manage transitions is that this can't happen (or more correctly it would be very unusual for the German President or Australian Governor General to do this, and the last time the UK monarch tried to pull this it nearly killed the monarchy).

The problem is at some point legislation for essential government functions will be required, taxation arrangements will expire, deadlines for ratifying EU legislation internally will pass etc. Belgium managed this mostly ok because while the parties didn't want to be in coalition they didn't hate each other to the point of physical violence, and the system is fully parliamentary so ad hoc deals were possible since the Head of State wont block things.

The Fifth Republic was (ostensibly, anyway) set up this way to prevent the instability of the Third/Fourth Republic and the weak coalitions and minority governments, but now they're in the same problem from the Presidential Side. They've never had this issue before, and I think the French Government does specify a Prime Minister in the constitution, unlike the UK et al where it doesn't exist but we all pretend it does, so there's an argument he's legally obligated to appoint one.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 19 points 3 weeks ago

Getcha yellow vests ready

load more comments
view more: next ›