A change in the baton?

Emmanuel Macron learns fast. From relative obscurity to heading the French government, Macron was given a pat-down by the all-powerful German Finance Minister for having had the temerity to suggest France wouldn't necessarily accept German leadership in European Community matters. How the tables turn! The same Finance Minister is no longer in that powerful position. Macron has the meantime pulled out a second, stunning majority win in the French Parliament and already laid down his plans to restart a flagging economy that was going nowhere. These plans take on the powerful labour unions and seem to have obtained general approval from a fed-up electorate. In the next five years he is looking at shaving two percentage points off the 9.75 per cent unemployment figures. Flexibility in recruitment and retrenchment should encourage businesses to on-board more employees. Adding two and a half hours to weekly work-time should bring about greater productivity and assist in reducing the budget deficit close to the agreed 3.1 per cent of GDP, common rates in the EU. Macron's plans include massive cuts in unnecessary expenditure and more investments where the pinch has been worst felt. One area he probably will be keen on knowing more about is why France is the world's most popular tourist destination but the least spent-on tourism destination.

Europe's face, so to say, has usually been Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor recently re-elected to her fourth term. For the first time though, she is on wobbly ground.

The Social Democrats find the situation of a coalition partner untenable in terms of being faithful to constituents. The only other coalition partners are the Greens and Yellows, a coexistence that will be hammered out in the coming months. Thus, the stage was set for the re-morphing of Macron outlining the vision of a unified army and shared defence spending for Europe and further towards a continental, rather than nation states. A space that would be open even for the UK to rejoin at some stage. The timing was uncanny. Within a few days of each other, Macron's wedge in the Brexit door and Corbyn's declaration that the single market and customs union were very much part of the Labour thinking, sounded very similar at least in the ultimate objective.

Ms Merkel will find more difficulty in getting her new coalition partners to be as supportive of intense European integration. Till that's sorted, someone has to fly the flag, so to say. Macron has proven he has the guts; it may be now that he has to quickly establish his international credentials even as he proves a point domestically. His skills in uniting a divided nation, instilling new inspiration and belief will be needed in a situation where the Turkish application for EU membership is to be considered as well as the concerns emanating from the Catalonian calls for independence.

The writer may be reached at [email protected]