In Britain, Prime Minister May has called a General Election because she wants a second vote on Brexit.
In France, one of the most likely Presidential candidates who could get into the second round, Macron, has broken from his traditional party to lead a charge back to Blair and Clinton; reversing at full speed to a fuzzy version of state social-support and a sharp appeal for unregulated capitalism. The right wing Republican, Fillon, wants to destroy labour rights, going further back to Reagan and Thatcher - but he looks stuffed as a result of his corruption. Two other possible candidates for the second round, out of the four whose polling could place them in the Presidential runoff after 23 April, Melenchon and Le Pen, both claim that France needs a fight with globalisation and oppose the role of the EU. They propose a very different sort of fight, opposite in their approach. But all these candidates for the French Presidency at least stand for something. Le Pen's sights are on a failing Macron and the Presidential election of 2022. But even now none of the leading candidates simply wish to rehearse the previous election to make sure that this time it is done properly. Which underlines PM May's worthless exercise in Britain.
May says (at the moment) she will not do TV debates. Nothing really to debate. Her aim is to get the Election done, quick and nasty. Get the Brexit vote out - again. Gather up the 4 million UKIP voters that are currently watching UKIP collapse. Ride the 'leadership' horse as she hides her own mediocre and self serving political persona in the general media and right wing Labour howl against Labour leader Corbyn. Break up Labour in parts of the north (hopefully) and win a couple of seats more than Labour in Scotland and Wales (hopefully) then its all done and dusted. And the British electorate? They get to choose a bigger and better Brexit than the first time round when they voted in the Referendum and the prospect of a 90 plus Tory majority running the government for the next 5 years.
Corbyn has already started to 'go French.' He says the election is not about Brexit, its about the sort of country that Britain should be. He has hit the central weakness of May's campaign. Whatever damage right wing Labour MPs have done to their leadership, 7 weeks is long enough to clarify that while Briton's do not need another vote for Brexit, they do need working hospitals, support for the expanding education system (and not the 11+!) They need a decisive end to May's extension of Cameron's austerity.
But Corbyn must also 'go more British'; internationalist British, just as Melenchon goes internationalist French. No more equivocation on immigration. Say it loud and proud. Every worker and refugee welcome here, and every employer will pay all their workers the new minimum wage. No more hesitation on the right of Scotland to decide its own future whenever it wants. And yes, time for British politicians to support the discussion for a united Ireland in the context of the vote of the Northern Irish people over EU membership.
And Corbyn needs to be 'more political'. Rebuilding a new Labour Party after the assault to smash it up in May's Brexit election will need new alliances and coalitions with others who agree on basic principles (rather than endless concessions to MPs who would rather have the Tories win than see a genuinely radical Labour Party.) May's blows against Labour (enhanced sadly by many Labour MPs) will require a lot of reconstruction, work among the people and building a movement on common ground. That's ok. So long as Labour's left do not go back to sleep they can tear a hole through May's election goals, before and after June 8, building something fresh that can take on the waves of crises that are certainly coming in what remains Europe's weakest link.
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