Macron

Le Pen won lots to speak first and chose to focus on cost of living, vetoing the broadcaster's preference to address Ukraine.

“I am for the banning of the headscarf in the public place, it’s a uniform imposed by Islamic extremists,” she added. “I have a lot to say on this issue,” she said when reminded of her time limit. I have always defended France and the French. Always and in all circumstances,” she said. “You cannot defend the interests of France because your interests are linked to Russian powers,” Macron said. The face-off was moderated by two journalists well known to French audiences, and each candidate had equal time to answer questions on a range of subjects and their policies. After a disastrous performance in the 2017 presidential debate, Le Pen was far better prepared this time. Much of the debate was technical. “In 2015 you took out a loan with a Russian bank and you still have not paid it back.” This prompted Le Pen, a cat breeder in her spare time, to show her claws. “The president doesn’t decide salaries, that’s down to employers,” Macron said. Le Pen had drawn lots to speak first and opened by addressing the cost of living crisis, which polls show is the number one concern for French voters. Macron is an experienced and sharp debater, which Le Pen is not. “And you voted against it.”

French President Emmanuel Macron was found to be more convincing than far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in a pre-election debate on French televison ahead ...

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com In 2017, Macron beat Le Pen with 66.1% of the vote. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen has fallen behind centrist Emmanuel Macron in the opinion polls but millions of voters are still undecided. It did not take long ...

It was intolerant and she was pushing millions of compatriots out of the public space on account of their religion, he said. Constitutional change: Another of Marine Le Pen's big policies is for citizens' referendums, which she said were rooted in the yellow-vest or gilets jaunes protests that began early in the Macron presidency. Marine Le Pen retorted that he was a "climate hypocrite". Mr Macron denied that was the case. European Union: Marine Le Pen has changed her policy from leaving the EU to seeking change from within it. And in the main, he avoided the trap of coming over as too arrogant or technocratic. Ms Le Pen said she had taken Russian money as no French bank would lend to her party. She snapped back: "I want to give the French their money back." "We need to give priority to the French in their own country," she said. And yet, the president never gave the feeling he was not on solid ground. Ms Len Pen was deemed to be more in tune with normal people (37% to Macron's 34%), but 50% of voters also found her "worrying". But this time, Marine Le Pen was ready from the start and far more composed.

President Emmanuel Macron and far-right rival Marine Le Pen on Thursday prepared for a final rush of campaigning before France's presidential election after ...

The left-leading Liberation said Le Pen was "vague on numerous subjects" and Macron "arrogant". Both candidates have their eyes on voters who backed third-placed hard-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon in the first round. "It's not Gerard Majax (on TV) this evening," retorted Macron, referring to a well-known French television conjurer. "When you speak to Russia you are speaking to your banker." I say this sincerely." On Thursday, Macron was due to meet voters in the north of Paris and Le Pen to hold a rally in the northern city of Arras.

In just a few days, Macron faces Le Pen in a rematch of their 2017 presidential contest. But as Rim-Sarah Alouane writes, "During his first term in office, ...

There is a need to proactively and constructively engage with Muslims, put in place programs that fight discrimination, and stop weaponizing laïcité as a tool for political identity. They are shaping the agenda of French political debate. But since the 1990s, the understanding of laïcité has evolved and been interpreted as limiting religious expressions, more specifically Muslim ones. include amending the Constitution to restrict immigration, family reunification and asylum that she deems a threat to France's identity. The focus on French Muslims, in particular, has been marked by a steady increase in fear-mongering for votes over the past 30 years. In the wake of his 2017 victory, the political landscape shifted dramatically, with Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally party being the main beneficiary.

In the sole debate ahead of Sunday's presidential run-off, French President Emmanuel Macron attacked his far-right rival Marine Le Pen for owing money to a ...

- Le Pen hit Macron hard in two areas: crime and the rising cost of living. She did grow flustered at times when Macron pressed her on specific numbers and policy positions. Meetings of global finance ministers and central bankers tend to be polite affairs, verging upon horribly boring. - Le Pen denied that she planned to pull France out of the Euro or the EU — positions she has shifted on since 2017 — but said she would stand up for France in Brussels in a way no previous French president had. - In one of the most stinging attack lines of the night, Macron said Russia was in fact Le Pen's banker, and she would have a "dependency" on Moscow because her party has yet to fully repay a 2014 loan from to a bank linked to the Russian state. - But Le Pen opposed a ban on Russian oil and gas, arguing it wouldn't hurt Russia but would be "cataclysmic" for France. She also warned that sending certain weapons to Ukraine could make France a "co-belligerent," and that efforts to isolate Moscow could result in a Russia-China alliance.

French President Emmanuel Macron tore into his far-right challenger Marine Le Pen in a debate for her ties to Russia and wanting to strip Muslim women of ...

She said her party is repaying the loan and called the president "dishonest" for raising the issue. Because she is trailing in polls, Le Pen needed to land a knockout blow in the debate. He zeroed in on her voting record as a lawmaker and questioned her grasp of economic figures. Usually a powerful orator, Le Pen occasionally struggled for words and fluidity. Macron appeared particularly self-assured in contrast, bordering at times on arrogance — a trait that his critics have highlighted. "You are speaking to your banker when you speak of Russia, that's the problem," Macron charged. "How would you like it if a French politician took a loan from Cosa Nostra? Well, this here is the same thing." Inaudible because of the music, she had to stop and start again. But she made an inauspicious start: Having been picked to speak first, she started talking before the debate's opening jingle had finished playing. But the result is expected to be closer than five years ago and both candidates are angling for votes among electors who didn't support them in the election's first round on April 10. "You are not like me," Macron said. She said Macron's presidency had left the country deeply divided.

PARIS — French voters go to the polls on Sunday for France's presidential election runoff between incumbent President Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader ...

PARIS — French voters go to the polls on Sunday for France’s presidential election runoff between incumbent President Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen.

French President Emmanuel Macron and his far-right challenger Marine Le Pen clashed Wednesday night in a TV debate that laid bare their differences, ...

"I think that the great majority of the women who wear one can't do otherwise in reality, even if they don't dare say so." When Google comes and attacks us in our market, who comes and helps us? Europe. And when these big groups don't pay their taxes in our countries, what allows us to fight back? Le Pen, who lost to Macron in the 2017 runoff, said she was "obliged to be the spokesperson of the people" and promised to be "the president of sovereignty." Le Pen, who in the 2017 election called for a French exit from the EU, has softened her stance, promising reform of the bloc and an "alliance of nations." The centrist incumbent beat a familiar tune of heavy investment in French industry and an uncompromising commitment to the European Union. Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Rally party, cast herself as the voice of a public struggling with a cost-of-living crisis.

Emmanuel Macron is the favorite, but his rival Marine Le Pen is rising in the polls, suggesting the election could be more tightly fought than when the pair ...

Le Pen argues that the two are expensive and inefficient -- she also says wind turbines have scarred the landscape of the traditional French countryside -- so she wants to scrap subsidies for both. Most candidates in the first round backed the kind of nuclear development Macron has already announced, so there is little divergence on this issue. Just shy of 90% of French people were worried about the war in the last week of March, according to Ifop. Given his challengers' patchy record on standing up to Putin, this has likely played in Macron's favor so far. Ahead of the first round of this election, Macron refused to debate his opponents, and he has hardly campaigned himself. But by and large, her economic nationalist stance, views on immigration, skepticism of Europe and position on Islam in France -- she wants to make it illegal for women to wear headscarves in public -- have not changed. Faced with the economic fallout from the pandemic, high energy prices and the war in Ukraine, voters are feeling the pinch, despite generous government support. This is her third shot at the presidency. looked set to be an important referendum on the rising popularity of the French far right. Macron is an ex-investment banker and alumnus of some of France's most elite schools. Macron's election effectively blew up the traditional center of French politics. Both polled under 5% in the first round. Le Pen appeared much more prepared than in the event in 2017, when her poor performance effectively doomed her campaign.

Verdict of public and pundits is that the current president was more convincing than his far-right rival.

Judging by the debate, she did not dispel the doubts.” Le Figaro concluded the debate would not have changed voters’ intentions. Le Monde concluded the debate was once again “a failure” for Le Pen. “Did she give the impression she is ready to govern?” asked Le Parisien in an editorial. Clément Beaune, the Europe minister, accused Le Pen of seeking to organise a Frexit by stealth. The exchange was a rematch of 2017’s TV debate, during which the far-right leader became aggressive. Was Marine Le Pen dominated or passive? About 15.6 million people watched the debate, fewer than in 2017 when 16.6 million viewers tuned in.

Just days before France's crucial presidential runoff vote, the center-left leaders of Germany, Spain and Portugal are urging French voters to choose ...

She said bringing down the cost of living would be her priority if elected as France’s first woman president. PARIS -- Just days before France's crucial presidential runoff vote, the center-left leaders of Germany, Spain and Portugal urged French voters Thursday to choose centrist President Emmanuel Macron over far-right nationalist rival Marine Le Pen. Just days before France's crucial presidential runoff vote, the center-left leaders of Germany, Spain and Portugal are urging French voters to choose centrist President Emmanuel Macron over far-right nationalist rival Marine Le Pen

French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that challenger Marine Le Pen's proposed measure to ban Muslim headscarves in French public spaces would create ...

He zeroed in on her voting record as a lawmaker and questioned her grasp of economic figures. That is a fact,” Macron said. Macron emerged ahead from the April 10 first round. He said that debt meant that, if elected president, Le Pen's hands would be tied when dealing with the Kremlin. But the result is expected to be closer than five years ago and both candidates are angling for votes among electors who didn't support them in the election's first round on April 10. “I think a great proportion of young women who are wearing it have no other choice in reality.”

In Jean-Luc Mélenchon's France Insoumise, two-thirds backed either abstention or spoiled ballots in the presidential runoff. Emmanuel Macron's record of ...

. . . We have the fourth-largest army in the world, and it is capable of taking out this scum.” From then on, the idea of somehow being “on the same side” with these people became simply unthinkable for large sectors of society, above all — but not only — among the working class. To that end, it is necessary to get rid of the habitual moralistic posturing and go beyond simply repeating historical references that make little sense to large sections of the population — precisely the people who need to be convinced. For those on the Left, we are told, refusing to vote for Macron means to succumb to “anger,” to be a prisoner of “emotions,” and thus to “pave the way” for the far right. Symbolic violence does not constitute a distinct, autonomous and self-subsistent species of violence that could be opposed to physical violence and the use of brutal force. Anger, in the end, is a beautiful, noble emotion, linked to freedom, to justice, to the hope for a better world. The term essential to understanding it is “violence” — social, physical, and symbolic. Yes, it is perfectly true that Le Pen does represent a “danger” — or, more precisely, that the implementation of her program is incompatible with any notion of a humane life. However, to reach beyond those already convinced of Le Pen’s badness, it is also necessary to emphasize the profoundly antisocial character of her program and the fact that far from attacking only “minorities,” it attacks the rights and vital interests of the great majority. This is the real issue: “after the five years we have just had,” it is politically untenable for the main left-wing formation to call for a Macron vote. For years, pollsters have built up a sort of “fear rating” for Marine Le Pen, designing surveys to measure the “danger” she represents according to public opinion. According to estimates, between 24 percent and 36 percent of Mélenchon’s voters abstained in that runoff, with 17 percent opting for a blank or null ballot; among voters for then Socialist/Green candidate Benoît Hamon, abstention was between 17 and 24 percent and the blank or null vote 10 percent. Emmanuel Macron’s record of slashing welfare and repressing protests has hobbled his call for a vote to stop the far right.

Centrist presidential candidate and French President Emmanuel Macron poses for selfie with a resident during a campaign stop Thursday, April 21, ...

“We must not forget that, no matter how much those politicians are now trying to distance themselves from the Russian aggressor." One woman told the 44-year-old leader that the presidential runoff, to her, amounting to choosing between “plague and cholera.” The French will mobilize to put an end to (Macron’s) devastating first term,” she said. Social Democrat Scholz and Socialists Sánchez and Costa wrote that Europe “is facing a change of era” due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and that “populists and the extreme right” are viewing Putin “as an ideological and political model, replicating his chauvinist ideas.” “With Marine Le Pen as president of the Republic, Seine-Saint-Denis residents will be the first victims of discrimination,” they wrote, calling her platform “racist” and “a negation of democracy.” Macron answered that he was ready change his platform to meet the needs of French voters, “including of people who did not vote for me” in the first round.

Polls show incumbent French President Emmanuel Macron defeating far-right National Rally candidate Marine Le Pen, and his strong performance in a televised ...

At the same time, Le Pen can use her relatively friendly attitude toward Russia, which she shares with Mélenchon, to suggest that as president she would be able to ease tensions with Moscow and reduce the risk of harm to the French economy. Now, the hopes of both Macron, a centrist with a liberal economic pedigree, and Le Pen, who has spent the last decade at the helm of one of the most successful far-right parties in Europe, largely come down to their ability to woo the left-wing electorate. Now, the hopes of both Macron, a centrist with a liberal economic pedigree, and Le Pen, who has spent the last decade at the helm of one of the most successful far-right parties in Europe, largely come down to their ability to woo the left-wing electorate. “It’s not foreign policy in itself that matters here—the French are looking at what foreign policy means for their day-to-day lives.” For her part, Le Pen, while hardly an easy choice for left-wing voters, is hoping to win over at least some of Mélenchon’s electorate by further softening her image and presenting herself as the protector of the working class. In 2017, 53 percent of Mélenchon’s voters switched to Macron in the runoff, and just over 10 percent opted for Le Pen, with the rest abstaining or spoiling their ballot. The president “has disappointed left-wing voters,” said Erwan Lecoeur, a sociologist and French politics expert at the Pacte research group. The many undecided voters and the uncertainty over turnout make the final result anything but a foregone conclusion—with potentially huge implications for the unity of Europe. Mélenchon energized leftist voters with promises to raise unemployment benefits, the minimum wage, and the lowest pensions and to impose significant tax hikes on the wealthy—a platform hardly in line with Macron’s record in office. Their candidate has harsh words for both Macron and Le Pen, and while, following the first round, he has urged his backers not to cast a single ballot for the far-right leader, he has stopped short of endorsing Macron. The many undecided voters and the uncertainty over turnout make the final result anything but a foregone conclusion—with potentially huge implications for the unity of Europe. Many of them belong to the same low-income, globalization-wary demographic as Le Pen’s voters.

French President Emmanuel Macron cleared a major hurdle on the path to re-election with a combative TV debate performance against far-right candidate Marine ...

Still, during the debate Macron failed to dispel an image of haughtiness that has taken root during his presidency. "Each of them has a huge weakness," Bernard Sananes of pollster Elabe said. And Marine Le Pen remains scary for half of them." "You talk about your banker when you talk about Russia, that's the problem," Macron told his opponent. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Just days ahead of the second and final round of the presidential election on Sunday, supporters of Emmanuel Macron are multiplying their efforts to ...

Measuring the effectiveness of door-to-door campaigning in persuading people to vote for a certain candidate is extremely difficult, but the process does allow the campaigners to gather viewpoints and information that later help shape strategy. "Sometimes we can accidentally come across as arrogant to the people we exchange with," he says. "We want to guide the unemployed towards employment. For me, there's a huge difference between Le Pen and Macron. I'll be voting for Macron on Sunday." "We often only have a second to express an idea and so sometimes it sounds too aggressive." I want it to happen as soon as possible." As part of his goal to reach "full employment" – or an unemployment rate of 5% or less – Macron wants to make unemployment benefits conditional on recipients doing 15 to 20 hours of interim work per week. "He proposes another model of society," replies Thomas. "Macron's model will only lead to catastrophe. He saw his friends killed because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time." Le Pen has tried to distance herself from her party's Neo-fascist beginnings in the early 1970s. Because when he was young, he saw Nazis come to his farm in Bourgogne. He has never forgotten. The Americans admire the state that France is in after Covid. What would Le Pen have done in his place?

PARIS (AP) — Just days before France's crucial presidential runoff vote, the center-left leaders of Germany, Spain and Portugal urged French voters Thursday ...

But he changed his mind in face of the “enormous risk” that Le Pen may win. “We must not forget that, no matter how much those politicians are now trying to distance themselves from the Russian aggressor.” But if Marine Le Pen wins, we might not even be allowed to demonstrate at all,” he said. One woman told the 44-year-old leader that the presidential runoff, to her, amounting to choosing between “plague and cholera.” The French will mobilize to put an end to (Macron’s) devastating first term,” she said. Calling Macron “the president of the rich,” he said he initially planned to vote blank.

PARIS (AP) — Just days before France's crucial presidential runoff vote, the center-left leaders of Germany, Spain and Portugal urged French voters Thursday ...

French President Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marin Le Pen met Wednesday night in their only debate ahead of Sunday's runoff vote for president.

A post-debate poll showed that 59% of the French were convinced by Mr. Macron compared with 39% by Ms. Le Pen. Voters go to the polls Sunday to choose between the two. He said that would make France, a country of the Enlightenment and human rights, the first ever to ban religious symbols in public. So when she talked about the EU, a major topic, he rightly pointed out that her policies are still a de facto Frexit. While Le Pen no longer advocates leaving the EU, an idea that turned out to be unpopular with French voters after Brexit, she complained that the EU's unfair open-competition laws hurt French producers. And you know that when you face Emmanuel Macron, you cannot afford to do that because he's going to be on top of every issue. Two giant stopwatches kept them to time.

French President Emmanuel Macron has maintained and possibly slightly extended his lead over far-right challenger Marine Le Pen following a prickly ...

read more Le Parisien said in an editorial on Thursday. "Judging by the debate, she did not dispel that doubt." Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com "Why wait for Macron to step down when, by using your vote, you can fire him?" Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

A day after the gloves came off in a combative debate between Emmanuel Macron and his far-right challenger Marine Le Pen, the president sparred with a new ...

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

French President Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marin Le Pen met Wednesday night in their only debate ahead of Sunday's runoff vote for president.

You may click on “Your Choices” below to learn about and use cookie management tools to limit use of cookies when you visit NPR’s sites. If you click “Agree and Continue” below, you acknowledge that your cookie choices in those tools will be respected and that you otherwise agree to the use of cookies on NPR’s sites. NPR’s sites use cookies, similar tracking and storage technologies, and information about the device you use to access our sites (together, “cookies”) to enhance your viewing, listening and user experience, personalize content, personalize messages from NPR’s sponsors, provide social media features, and analyze NPR’s traffic.

French President Emmanuel Macron visited a multicultural, working-class suburb north of Paris on Thursday to woo leftist voters ahead of Sunday's ...

But he changed his mind in face of the “enormous risk” that Le Pen may win. Gifts processed in this system are not tax deductible, but are predominately used to help meet the local financial requirements needed to receive national matching-grant funds. “We must not forget that, no matter how much those politicians are now trying to distance themselves from the Russian aggressor.” But if Marine Le Pen wins, we might not even be allowed to demonstrate at all,” he said. One woman told the 44-year-old leader that the presidential runoff, to her, amounting to choosing between “plague and cholera.” Calling Macron “the president of the rich,” he said he initially planned to vote blank.

The second round of the French elections is less than a week away, and foreign policy has become a major campaign topic. Marine Le Pen's foreign policy...

The spat between them was unfortunate, but the common challenge is Russia. If Macron is re-elected, there is a lot of room for new openings with Eastern European partners in security and defense cooperation. The fact that the National Rally still has ongoing loans from a Russian bank has allowed her adversaries to attack her and this topic would likely be back on the table in the case of her election. In the first weeks of the war in Ukraine, as part of France’s rotating presidency of the EU Council, Macron gathered European leaders in Versailles and led a strong response to the invasion. Strategic rapprochement with NATO: The West engaged Russia in a strategic rapprochement before and that did not stop its leader from seeking dominance over independent neighboring countries. France played a leading role in the Normandy Format and in the Minsk agreements, which were difficult for Ukraine to agree on. Putin wants to destroy Ukraine as a country and Ukrainians as a people. Dialogue and ceasefire: The two major challenges of Macron’s policy toward Russia and Eastern Europe are his emphasis on the importance of negotiations with Russia, which is poorly received in Eastern Europe, and his potential role in brokering a ceasefire in his capacity as one of Europe’s most influential and longest-serving leaders. Macron would probably not use the issue of arms supply for French public diplomacy efforts and openly communicate the details, but would nevertheless prove himself a reliable ally to Ukraine in this respect. In reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he pledged to deploy 500 soldiers to Romania and 200 soldiers to the Enhanced Forward Presence in Estonia. At the NATO Summit in June, Eastern European countries will continue to push for further strengthening the eastern flank. In addition to his 2019 warning that NATO might suffer from “brain death,” Macron’s overall approach to European security and defense puts him in a difficult position vis-à-vis the Eastern European allies. Sanctions and embargo: Sanctions will not stop the war, but they will hinder the Russian war machine and signal to Putin that his actions will not go unpunished.

The French president may well win reelection, but the forces propelling the far right are nevertheless strengthening.

The sense of anxiety that grips the public imagination in France, Britain, and the U.S. today reminds me of another period of turmoil and change following what many saw as a golden age of stability and order. An Emmanuel Macron victory—reassuring though it may be for the liberal order—will not be enough to accomplish that alone, just as Joe Biden’s was not enough in the U.S. The system itself needs to show that it can meet voters’ discontent. The reality is that systems that are unable to change to reflect the shifting demands of the public are vulnerable to revolutionary discontent. If Macron wins, it does not mean all is well for France or the EU, but nor does it mean that all is lost. Edwardian Britain is often portrayed as a period of early-20th-century civility before the cataclysm of world war. In 2017, Jean-Marie’s daughter Marine reached the runoff and scored 33.9 percent against Macron. This year, polling suggests she will receive somewhere in the region of 45 percent of the vote. France’s former ambassador to Washington, Gérard Araud, recently noted that this presidential campaign proves that France is “facing the same deep political, social and cultural crisis [as] most western democracies.” And over the course of his presidency, he has been seen by many as an arrogant president of the rich, loathed as an emblem of an out-of-touch elite. Opposition, therefore, has coalesced at the extremes, in the guise of Le Pen and the far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon (who makes Bernie Sanders seem positively Clintonian), both of whom are eurosceptic and anti-globalization. Second, in street violence and protests of the sort that dogged Macron’s first term. Yet France’s election reflects Europe and the West in another way too: the relentless rise of the nationalist right, fueled by causes emanating from far beyond each nation’s borders. We live in a time of constant upheaval and infuriating inertia.

A nearly three-hour debate between French presidential candidates Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen was watched by just 15.6 million viewers.

He went on to post 16 tweets noting the loan Le Pen’s party received and denouncing Putin. He arguably got in the biggest zinger of the night, one that is being repeated on a loop by French media. French media is largely giving the win to Macron in Wednesday’s debate, and a BFMTV poll found 59% of viewers agree.

FILE - A demonstrator holds a banner that reads: 'Neither Macron nor Le Pen', during a protest in Paris, April 16, 2022. Disgruntled left-wing voters whose ...

“I’ll decide at the last moment,” said retired power worker Pierre Gineste. Having voted Melenchon in round one, round two for him is the dilemma of a ballot for Macron, a blank ballot or not voting. Others will, almost literally, hold their noses and vote for Macron to keep out Le Pen. Some will back Le Pen, in a poke at the president. “I don't want to do it but I feel obliged.” In conceding defeat in round one, Melenchon said his backers “must not give a single vote to Madame Le Pen" — repeating the exhortation four times. "But I’m going to cast a blank ballot because I don’t want to choose between either of them.” How they vote — or don't vote — on Sunday will in large part determine whether incumbent Emmanuel Macron gets a second five-year term or cedes the presidential Elysee Palace to far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen, a seemingly unlikely but not impossible outcome that would be seismic for France and Europe as they deal with the fallout of Russia's war in Ukraine. The choice is so difficult and divisive that friendships and families are being tested. The same will be true on Sunday. For the first time in his life, the 65-year-old has decided to not vote at all in the decisive ballot this Sunday. More specifically, many describe the 44-year-old former banker as friend to the rich and oppressor of the poor. His pragmatism is too vanilla and opportunistic for many leftist voters hungry for a sharper and more ideological political divide. “It's horrible, enough to make one cry.