Brand new
The forthcoming French presidential election isn’t going to be the traditional battle between parties of left and right. It will be a competition between personality brands.
A one-word name of no more than two syllables is essential to get you talked about on social media. Forget the serious issues of the day, the choice in April may be reduced to the two most retweetable brands: Marine v Macron. The former is an attempt to lose a toxic surname and play down an attachment to a dubious party.
The latter is as skilful a piece of product promotion as you could ask for and the media has responded by heaping on the hype.
The youthful former Minister of the Economy, Emmanuel Macron knows that a good brand has no negative connotations attached to it, only positive, feel-good values. Political baggage is to be avoided. A party with a history behind it could be a liability that drags his charisma down in discussion and compromise so, for the purposes of this election, Macron has created his own new political organisation, En Marche! The compact title simultaneously incorporates his initials as subliminal advertising and works as a slogan signifying forward motion and getting things done.
To date, Macron has not offered the electorate much by way of policies. He will not even say whether he is on the left or right. It is his personality he is offering, not a programme. He told one interviewer that politics was simply “mystical”. He is undoubtedly a rousing public speaker motivated by unlimited self-confidence. This may be enough to assemble an ephemeral coalition on polling day; but it will be a sad day for French politics if the presidential race is won by someone who wants power but is reluctant to say what he is going to do with it.
