France And Germany Don’t Want To Follow In America’s Footsteps

With Donald Trump’s victory secured, all eyes are on France to see if they, too, will shake things up and add another conservative populist on the Security Council. More than 2.5 million people voted in the first primary round on Sunday and the battle is on between the rightwing and the ultra-rightwing. The rightwing candidate will most likely face the extreme far-right Marine Le Pen in the Spring 2017 Presidential Election. The leading contenders are all familiar faces among France’s political establishment, like former Prime Ministers Alain Juppé and François Fillon. And it’s not a race without former President Nicolas Sarkozy’s hat in the ring, though he was knocked out pretty early in yesterday’s primary. It’s unclear if any of them will unite French voters against the far-right.

Meanwhile, Germany’s national election isn’t until September 2017 but it’s already too crucial to ignore. Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that she will run for a fourth term, insisting that it was not an easy decision. It probably had something to do with President Obama’s visit, where he all-but-begged her to take a world leadership role after he leaves and do her best to babysit Trump. Merkel has led Germany since 2005 and is considered one of the most experienced leaders of the western world, but that won’t guarantee a win. As we’ve seen this year, voters don’t always like experienced, over-qualified women candidates. 

GOOD READ: How Germany’s Millennials Are Giving The Far-Right A Chance.