French President-elect Emmanuel Macron was sensationally packaged as a maverick candidate during the campaign who virtually came from behind en route to a surprising win against more seasoned political opponents. He was also billed by some observers as an "outsider" candidate. He was also promoted as "anti-establishment."
Such outsider, anti-establishment projections may only be skin-deep, though, if not totally misleading. Express reports that Emmanuel Macron, in fact, has deep-rooted ties with many former and current members of Britain's political establishment. Macron, a former Rothschild banker and economy minister under Francois Hollande, has ties with former Chancellor George Osborne. The two formed a bond at G-7 meetings while Macron was still part of France's socialist government. Osborne even posted his congratulations and practically gushed over the first-round win of his "friend" Macron.
Another on the list is Blairite Labor MP Chuka Ummuna who also shared this week that he had prior close conversations with Macron about the possibility of setting up a new party ahead of the French election. Ummuna said Macron spoke to him "some time ago" and floated the idea of setting up En Marche. Macron's En Manche, was only set up just a year ago.
Then there's also New Labor bigwig Peter Mandelson who got to know Macron at the time of the peer's tenure as an EU commissioner. He has even compared Macron to former Prime Minister Tony Blair. Mandelson even glowingly said that Macron appeals to French voters on both the left and right of the political spectrum. He said Macron gives him great hope for France, and it gives him great hope for Europe, too.
Macron's ties is not only limited to Britain's political establishment and the rest of Europe, but it seems it goes to as far as the U.S. Macron even met with traditional politician and then-presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton- definitely an insider and from the establishment- at a New York dinner which was also attended by Ummuna. Such meeting was revealed in WikiLeaks.
Proof of Macron's being an insider, and of the establishment, is the unabashed support coming from European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker himself. He did not only gave his nod to Macron during the presidential campaign but also tweeted his support following Macron's win. German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel could also be added to Macron's link and ties to the political establishment as he also celebrated Macron's victory and said it has "kept France at the heart of Europe."
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