Home News Democracies beset by divisive politics could learn lesson from Ukraine

Democracies beset by divisive politics could learn lesson from Ukraine

0


Western leaders breathed a sigh of relief when French President Emmanuel Macron defeated his far-right rival, Marine Le Pen, in elections last Sunday. And they immediately stepped up efforts to get heavy weaponry to Ukraine, where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s troops are fighting in defense of democracy.

But the French electorate gave Ms. Le Pen, the anti-system candidate, more than 40% of the vote. Like the United States, France is facing deep political divisions and broad disaffection.

Why We Wrote This

Ukrainians are showing that democracy matters enough to them to die for. Some of Kyiv’s allies are having trouble convincing voters that democracy works.

If Ukraine is showing that democracy matters, the task of political leaders in Washington and Paris – and in many other capitals – is to demonstrate that democracy still works.

The sources of the disaffection and disagreement that beset a number of democratic nations are varied, but economic and political grievances seem to take a back seat to simple anger.

There seems to be a sense of deep, indiscriminate distrust, and resentment, of government, and a sense of alienation. As they seek to overcome this, Western politicians may find a remedy for their ills in Ukraine.

Under daily Russian assault, President Zelenskyy has consistently delivered a message intended to resonate far beyond the borders of Ukraine: Democracy is worth fighting for.

London

At first, when the results of French presidential elections were announced on Sunday evening, there came a great, yogic exhalation: a sense of relief in Washington and other Western capitals that President Emmanuel Macron had defeated Marine Le Pen, a far-right populist with a soft spot for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

There followed newly intensified efforts to give Ukraine the weapons it needs to beat back Mr. Putin’s 2-month-old invasion. Kyiv’s Western allies have found inspiration in Ukraine’s courage and its message that democracy is worth fighting and dying for.

But a deeper lesson of the French elections has surfaced: Ms. Le Pen, an anti-system candidate who is deeply skeptical of both NATO and the European Union, won more than 40% of the vote, the most ever for a far-right figure in France. Like the United States, France is facing deep political divisions and broad disaffection.

Why We Wrote This

Ukrainians are showing that democracy matters enough to them to die for. Some of Kyiv’s allies are having trouble convincing voters that democracy works.

If Ukraine is showing that democracy matters, the task of political leaders in Washington and Paris – and in many other capitals – is to demonstrate that democracy still works.

The specific pressures and grievances vary from country to country. But they’re rooted in a mix of economic, social, cultural, and ethnic fissures that seem to be making it ever harder for political leaders to gather their citizens around a shared sense of national purpose and policy.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here