Mac the knife: Macron has stabbed Olaf Scholz in the back with snap election as Germany calls for its own day at the polls... with delighted Putin 'closely watching' the 'biggest vote in French history'
- The French president sensationally called a snap election in his national address
- Now critics of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are urging him to do the same
Emmanuel Macron last night took to the dais to deliver a national address to the French people after his Renaissance party suffered a drubbing at the hands of arch-rival Marine Le Pen's National Rally in Europe's parliamentary elections.
Most expected Macron to merely acknowledge the loss while insisting he remains a stalwart of democracy and European integration.
But instead, the French president sensationally called a snap election that will see his electorate head to the polls for a second time in less than a month in what was described by finance minister Bruno Le Maire as 'the most consequential election in the history of the Fifth Republic'.
In doing so, Macron may have beckoned the downfall of his German counterpart Olaf Scholz, who is now facing a litany of calls in his own country to follow suit.
The Chancellor's critics say his party's woeful performance in this weekend's European elections tarnished his mandate to govern at home and urged him to offer the German people the chance to choose a new government.
Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) - leaders of Germany's ruling coalition - recorded their worst post-World War II election result with just 13.9% of the vote behind the surging far-right AfD party and the conservative, Christian centre-right alliance.
Russia meanwhile is likely looking on with glee, as press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters today that the Kremlin is 'attentively observing' the gains of far-right parties in Europe and noted the defeat of Macron, whose government has been 'extremely unfriendly and even hostile' to Moscow.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attends a Social Democratic Party (SPD) board meeting the day after a European Parliament election, at the party's headquarters in Berlin, Germany, Monday, June 10, 2024
French President Emmanuel Macron last night called a snap election following a stinging defeat in European parliamentary elections
Russia is likely looking on with glee, as press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters today that the Kremlin is 'attentively observing' the gains of far-right parties in Europe and noted the defeat of Macron (Putin pictured)
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen arrives at the National Rally party headquarters, Monday, June 10, 2024 in Paris
A spokesman for Scholz said today that the Chancellor has no intention of calling an election despite suffering a stinging defeat in Europe.
'The regular election date is next autumn. And that's what we plan to do,' Steffen Hebestreit told a government press conference.
But the result sparked calls from opposition parties for Scholz to follow the lead of French President Emmanuel Macron and call a snap election.
Alice Weidel, co-leader of the AfD, said Germany had 'voted out the chancellor' and the government.
'There is now only one task left for Scholz: clear the way for new elections - instead of governing for another year against a large majority of the population,' Weidel wrote on X.
Governor of of Bavaria Markus Söder also piled in this morning, declaring: 'This government is basically finished and we need to do what France has done.'
Conservative Söder added that the Scholz government 'no longer has the trust of the population, that's why there should be new elections as soon as possible'.
And the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) - part of the alliance that stormed to victory over Scholz's SPD yesterday - insisted the Chancellor should hold a vote of confidence this week to see whether his volatile three-way coalition still believes he can govern effectively.
Members of Scholz's government have since leapt to his defence, with German finance minister Christian Lindner claiming the disastrous EU election results should not trigger a collapse of Germany's domestic politics.
Lindner, a member of the Free Democratic Union (FDP) in coalition with Scholz's SDP and the Greens said today: 'Why should anything have changed? We have a joint government program, and a coalition agreement that we are working on together.
'As long as everyone is committed to this working basis, there is no reason for a confidence vote.'
Meanwhile in France, Macron has been lambasted by several influential figures for calling a snap election weeks before Paris is due to host the Olympic Games.
The two-round parliamentary elections have been called for June 30 and July 7, with the Paris Olympics set to begin less than three weeks later on July 26.
The vote could lead to political instability in the event of another hung parliament in which no party wins a majority, or a seismic change if the far-right National Rally party of Marine Le Pen emerges as the biggest party nationally.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attends a Social Democratic Party (SPD) board meeting the day after a European Parliament election, at the party's headquarters in Berlin, Germany, Monday, June 10, 2024
Macron made a stunning announcement last night, declaring he was dissolving parliament and calling a snap parliamentary election in France
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen arrives at the National Rally party headquarters, Monday, June 10, 2024 in Paris
French President Emmanuel Macron (C) attends a memorial ceremony in Tulle, France, 10 June 2024
Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo slammed Macron's decision to call a snap election ahead of the Olympics
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said today: 'Like a lot of people I was stunned to hear the president decide to do a dissolution (of parliament).'
Hidalgo said the president 'could not continue as before', adding: 'But all the same, a dissolution just before the Games, it's really something that is extremely unsettling.'
France's foreign minister Stéphane Séjourné sought to cast Macron's decision as 'a bet on confidence in the French people' rather than a 'poker move', as it has been described in the French media.
Echoing Macron's own comments last night, Séjourné today said it is up to the French people to decide 'on the economic and political future of France and its role in the world'.
The president of France's lower house of parliament, Yaël Braun-Pivet also supported Macron's move, claiming it shows the French President acted swiftly to 'face reality' and to show that he has heard the voters' message.
Speaking last night immediately after his party's trouncing, Macron said: 'I cannot act as if nothing had happened... I have decided to give you the choice', adding that calling a snap election only underlines his democratic credentials.
In response, the RN's Marine Le Pen declared her party was 'ready to take power' should the French people desire it.
'We're ready to turn the country around, ready to defend the interests of the French, ready to put an end to mass immigration,' she said, echoing the rallying cry of far-right leaders in other countries who today will be celebrating their substantial wins.
France's parliamentary elections are separate to the presidential elections, meaning Macron's position as president is not at stake.
But his final three years in power will be miserable if his own party loses out to the RN, with the president forced to 'cohabit' with a party likely to oppose any policy he sets forth.
In the event of an RN victory in July, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal - often described as a mini-Macron - would be replaced by Le Pen, or her 28-year-old protégé Jordan Bardella.
France's President Emmanuel Macron exits a polling booth, adorned with curtains displaying the colors of the flag of France, before casting his ballot for the European Parliament election at a polling station in Le Touquet, northern France on June 9, 2024
Jordan Bardella, president of the French far-right National Rally, is seen at the party election night headquarters after French President Emanuel Macron announced he dissolves National Assembly and calls new legislative election after defeat in EU vote, Sunday, June 9, 2024 in Paris
Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov
The Kremlin said this morning it is 'attentively observing' the fallout of the EU elections, remarking on the gains of far-right parties even as dominant pro-Ukrainian European People's Party consolidated its status as the largest entity in European politics.
'As far as we can see, the majority will be pro-European and pro-Ukrainian... but we see the trend of rising popularity of right-wing parties,' spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
'While pro-Europeans so far retain their leadership positions, in time, based on what we see, the right-wing parties will be treading on their heels. We are attentively observing these processes,' President Vladimir Putin's spokesman added.
Asked to comment on Macron's decision to call surprise elections after Marine Le Pen's National Rally trounced his liberal party, Peskov said Russia 'would not like to interfere in these domestic matters'.
But he said Moscow would also be watching this vote closely, due to the French leadership's 'extremely unfriendly and even hostile attitude to our country'.
Le Pen has historic pro-Russia links but has distanced her party from Moscow since the launch of its military operation in Ukraine in February 2022.
She has however criticised the scale of military aid that Macron wants to give Kyiv.
