Estonia: Herkel says Macron's win more dominant than expected

TALLINN - Even though France will continue firmly on the course of European integration after liberal Emmanuel Macron's presidential win, Macron's reform promises might cause friction with Berlin, editor-in-chief of Diplomaatia magazine Erkki Bahovski said.

"It can always be questioned if the French voters all did vote for Macron," Bahovski told BNS. "Likely some also voted against Marine Le Pen, thus the lesser of two evils was chosen."

"France's problems will not vanish with Macron's election and we'll see if the disappointment created by Francois Hollande can be overcome," he said.

Bahovski said that a major role in Macron's win was played by his persona. "Le Pen according to her own election rhetoric embodied a person who will carry France forward by giving it new energy, and so far, it has been easy for her to do so in light of her previous rivals. But Macron is younger and more energetic than Le Pen and thus Le Pen's rhetoric did not work with him."

Bahovski said that after the general election in the Netherlands and the second round of the French presidential election, the wings of populism in Europe have been "considerably clipped". "At the same time, it would be naive to think that populism will disappear anywhere," he said.

"The battle has been won, but not the war, and Macron still needs to consider that a big portion of the voters voted for the National Front. It is not enough to just label the National Front to cancel it out, a new policy is needed, which would render the existence of the National Front meaningless. This is probably the most difficult challenge that Macron will have to face," Bahovski said.

The editor-in-chief of Diplomaatia said that Macron's election win will bring certainty that France will continue on the course of the European integration project. "At the same time, we need to remember that Macron also wishes to reform the European Union, which of course may create some friction with Berlin. But it is unlikely that something along those lines will happen before the elections of Germany's Bundestag or the French National Assembly," Bahovski said.