- Ind. center (6)
- LR conservatives (45)
- Regionalists (4)
- No result yet (3)
- NFP left-wing alliance (181)
- Macron’s coalition (166)
- Ind. right (15)
- RN and allies (143
- Ind. left (13)
- Misc. (1)
I’m trying to figure out, as an American…. This means the left has control/will control parliament right? (I assume it’s going to come down to building a larger Coalition rather than outright control,)
Either way it makes me somewhat hopeful.
As an American, maybe you know, but I should explain just in case: This is called a minority government, and it’s standard in many democracies around the world. Multiple parties will have to work together, and form a majority that can build a government. Or fail, triggering another election.
In this case, NFP will be looking around for people - independents and parties that are a part of Macron’s coalition - who would support them in exchange for goodies, like specific policies or being put in cabinet.
The concept of different parties working together confuses the modern American
Yeah, and more than once I’ve had someone think “minority government” must just refer to a dictatorship. To be completely fair it is unintuitive that a minority government always holds a majority. So, I just cleared it up right off the bat.
Two party does indeed suck. We have a somewhat less aggressive version in Canada. IMO the whole world should move towards the Norwegian system, with simple proportional rep and fixed terms to stave off snap elections.
It probably means the prime minister will be a more moderate figure from the left that can work with centrists. They’ll horsetrade with the centrists over cabinet positions and policy priorities. You could imagine a deal where Macronists get foreign affairs posts (like Minister for Armed Forces and Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs) and the left gets domestic ones (like Minister of Labor, Minister for Health, etc.)
In reality, that’s way simpler than it likely will be. Realistically, given France’s history, it probably means some gridlock and grandstanding. Every Prime Minister wants to be president next so there’s probably going to be some positioning for the next presidential election (in 2027) involved. Maybe they’ll get along for a year and then have new elections.