Did Nationalism Die with the French Election?
With the election of Macron as France's President, a great sigh of relief emanated from Brussels: the EU will survive after all. Those touting a return to secure national borders, preservation of local culture, rejection of globalism, etc. will crawl back under their rocks now. At least that's how these events have been portrayed.
As with most media portrayals of current events, the drama trumps the truth. And so it likely has been the case here. After all, Le Pen did garner 34% of the vote - a rather large percentage for someone characterized as "extreme," whose party has been called "fringe." 34% is hardly fringe.
It was reported as well that markets "reacted" to the election results, with Japan's Nikkei typically cited for it's 2%+ jump. Well of course markets reacted. What of it? In fact, most European markets were down, as were U.S. futures. Does this mean markets disapprove of the results? Hardly. More likely the result had already been priced in to these markets and the losses were simply profit-taking by traders. After all, Macron's victory was no surprise. He was heavily favored for days.
As for the Nikkei, who knows what Japanese traders are thinking? And, frankly, who cares?
And so, on balance, nothing much has really changed. The EU's demise was greatly exaggerated in recent months. Not that it's future is assured by any means. It's just that the portrayal of a "collapse" of the EU was more drama than truth. Has Nationalism died? Hardly. Has the election stemmed the "Nationalist Tide" as depicted in the Wall Street Journal's headline? It really depends on what you mean by "tide." Perhaps the recent waves of emotion wrought by the open borders policies pursued by the EU with the resultant inundation of immigrants from Muslim countries will go through a calm stretch. But don't all waves ebb and flow in their patterns?
We'll see what the future brings now. One suspects that if the EU returns to its "business as usual," those who have gained nothing from those policies will not just go about their own business as usual. The global economy has benefited some, but not all. Who has benefited from waves of Muslim immigrants whose presence not only taxes local economies but also brings with it increased crime and, frankly, a culture that is, still quite "foreign" to many Europeans?
As the EU continues to push it's globalist agenda, ignoring national borders and culture, expect the Nationalists to re-energize and continue to pursue their desire to preserve what is unique and precious to them.
As for markets, despite some reaction here or there to this or that event, their long-term trends remain in place, with stocks continuing a bullish charge that began in 2009. While early signs of change have become more defined, nothing has really stemmed the tide of the bull, just as nothing has really stemmed the tide of Nationalism.
As with most media portrayals of current events, the drama trumps the truth. And so it likely has been the case here. After all, Le Pen did garner 34% of the vote - a rather large percentage for someone characterized as "extreme," whose party has been called "fringe." 34% is hardly fringe.
It was reported as well that markets "reacted" to the election results, with Japan's Nikkei typically cited for it's 2%+ jump. Well of course markets reacted. What of it? In fact, most European markets were down, as were U.S. futures. Does this mean markets disapprove of the results? Hardly. More likely the result had already been priced in to these markets and the losses were simply profit-taking by traders. After all, Macron's victory was no surprise. He was heavily favored for days.
As for the Nikkei, who knows what Japanese traders are thinking? And, frankly, who cares?
And so, on balance, nothing much has really changed. The EU's demise was greatly exaggerated in recent months. Not that it's future is assured by any means. It's just that the portrayal of a "collapse" of the EU was more drama than truth. Has Nationalism died? Hardly. Has the election stemmed the "Nationalist Tide" as depicted in the Wall Street Journal's headline? It really depends on what you mean by "tide." Perhaps the recent waves of emotion wrought by the open borders policies pursued by the EU with the resultant inundation of immigrants from Muslim countries will go through a calm stretch. But don't all waves ebb and flow in their patterns?
We'll see what the future brings now. One suspects that if the EU returns to its "business as usual," those who have gained nothing from those policies will not just go about their own business as usual. The global economy has benefited some, but not all. Who has benefited from waves of Muslim immigrants whose presence not only taxes local economies but also brings with it increased crime and, frankly, a culture that is, still quite "foreign" to many Europeans?
As the EU continues to push it's globalist agenda, ignoring national borders and culture, expect the Nationalists to re-energize and continue to pursue their desire to preserve what is unique and precious to them.
As for markets, despite some reaction here or there to this or that event, their long-term trends remain in place, with stocks continuing a bullish charge that began in 2009. While early signs of change have become more defined, nothing has really stemmed the tide of the bull, just as nothing has really stemmed the tide of Nationalism.
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