Is Macron trying to woo the right wing politicians ahead of 2022 elections by fueling the crisis with Algeria?
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Roshan Amiri
- . October 6, 2021
- . Update: October 6, 2021 10:33 pm
Algeria-Bitter Visa row between Algeria and France has ignited to the point that the latter has called for its ambassador back and not just this, it banned military planes by France in its sky. The two countries have a deep but bitter history with each other, however, that is only the first layer.
France has scheduled the general elections for next year and experts believe that that is the main reason why French president Emmanuel Macron is ready to completely wipe off the diplomatic ties. Macron lacks the support of right wing politicians having presented himself as a motivated liberal, moderately left leader.
With his party and his position in the party, he would not have made such aggressive comments on Algerian governance but the leader chose to go ahead with it and ended up calling Algerian governance a ‘political military system’.
The president also brought in the past of the country by saying that Algeria has rewritten its history. This comment didn’t go well with his Algerian counterpart. Algeria was one of the colonies of France and when it was ruling the country, there were several case studies of human related atrocities, murders and mass scale toruture.
In the end, when France chose to leave the nation, it was not because of economic or humanitarian reasons but because of its tarnished image. France had to keep its PR stronger than others to woo everyone into believing in the nation’s leadership. This torture has in turn been glorified by Macron who said that there was no Algerian nation before french colonisation.
The comments made by the French leader were completely opposite of what he had portrayed earlier. Macron has always shown criticism for the colonisation period and in one of his interviews called it ‘crime against humanity’. Given his previous views, his statements have surely come as a shock for many.
He also had previously admitted that the French were responsible for torturing the population of Algeria. Now, the leader has missed the plot completely. In fact, until last month, Macron had asked for forgiveness from the Algerian community during a ceremony.
It may be a shock for many but many other political and international affairs experts feel that it was always expected of Macron. Many had projected Macron as a leader who has shown himself to be a liberal, anti-terrorrism person but that is just a disguise for the world as he comes from a very strong belief of French superiority.
Even if his mindset was just an assumption, people cannot dismiss the timing of the remarks that he made. Ahead of 2022 elections, Macron is looking for majority support and hence making his share of efforts to woo the right wing politicians. If not anything, all these recent events are all part of Macron’s bid for re-election in April 2022.
The French media has already stated that this time, the winning ticket will go to the person who shows far-right values and defends French action in whatever way possible. This might be Macron’s way of bringing racism to the centre line and getting the majority.
