Andrew Stuttaford wrote a great piece on the French elections. Among other things, he says:
De Rugy concludes that “France is now ungovernable.” I’m not so sure. Gridlock is rarely the worst thing, especially when compared with the economic policy horrors contained in both the RN and LFI programs.
I don’t disagree. The fact that, at this stage, it seems very unlikely that the various groups will find a way or be willing to form a relatively stable coalition that would allow some semblance of governance over the next three years doesn’t mean gridlock isn’t a good thing.
This gridlock will stop La France Insoumise (Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s far-left party) from implementing its insanely destructive program. The Times of London has some of the details (credit to Steve Moore’s Unleashing Prosperity newsletter):
“The programme features a 90 per cent tax rate on annual income of over €400,000, a reduction in the retirement age from 64 to 60, a block on the price of “essential goods”, a 14 per cent increase in the minimum wage and spending commitments of at least €150 billion over three years.”
Eric Coquerel, a leader of one of the New Popular Front says that the tax would “not be considered confiscatory” because it would only have an impact on “the highest portion of a taxpayer’s income.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Vive la gridlock!