* It’s easy to be self-critical of our electorate after the presidential election. But we’re not alone in democratic incongruities. The recent French election, which will result in a runoff between far-right populist Marine Le Pen and centrist Emmanuel Macron, had an interesting aside to it–and, no, it had nothing to do with early exit polls in French Guiana or Guadeloupe.
National polls showed that one in three French voters were still undecided the day before voting. In other words, one in three still weren’t sure in an election to decide EU membership, the status of the French franc, immigrant security and what to do about the rise of fascism and double-digit unemployment. And a third of the electorate was undecided? Quelle domage.
* You know who we really, really miss on the world stage right now? No, not Barack Obama. Not Ronald Reagan. Mikhail Gorbachev. A man with global credibility who understands priorities, what’s at stake and what he can do about it–without engaging in brinkmanship.