French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen's political moves are now paying off, with just a week away from her election face-off with Emmanuel Macron. A recent poll reveals she is gaining ground, and her rival is slipping with voters.
Le Pen announced her resignation as National Front leader to focus on her presidential campaign and to give more to the heart of her campaign, that she is not a candidate of any party since her battlecry is "Choose France", anyway. Now, she is being rewarded for her efforts. Pollster Harris Interactive, which also correctly predicted the result of the first round showed a six points slip by Macron since last Sunday.
Le Pen minces no words in slamming her rival. She said that the country Macron wants is no longer France; "it's a space, a wasteland, a trading room where there are only consumers and producers". The latest survey was even conducted prior to the announcement that defeated first round presidential candidate Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, would serve as Le Pen's prime minister if she wins the presidency.
Even the French media concedes that the alliance now between Le Pen and Dupont- Aignan represented an important move to grab moderate voters and could be a decisive factor during the face-off election on May 7. Dupont-Aignan's policies are being regarded as less extreme than her own, despite being eurosceptic and also a long-time critic of the eurozone.
Le Pen and Dupont- Aignan came out with a joint statement on Saturday and said that "the transition from the single currency to the European common currency is not a prerequisite for any economic policy." Le Pen also clarified that she has not changed her position on the euro. She said that she has, in fact, been calling for the transformation of the single currency to the common currency for quite a long time, and that there's certainly no contradiction to that.
Some leaders from National Front party including Robert Menard, mayor of the town of Beziers in the south of France welcome the joining of forces of erstwhile rivals Dupont-Aignan and Le Pen. Menard said that to win an election it would be necessary to assemble and gather first "in your own camp". And that what's happening is good for their party.
The Harris Interactive poll still places Macron ahead of Le Pen with 61 percent to Le Pen's 33 percent. But with still solid days ahead, and with the surprising trends in elections the past years including Trump's own amazing upset victory, and Brexit, the endgame results may not be as predictable as what the polls show.
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